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Hey sleeping beauty. I wish I could have stayed with you instead of going back to my empty bed. But I'm pretty sure neither of us would have gotten any sleep.

Then from a few minutes ago.

I'm lucky I had to ride out to the north pasture to fix some fence. Otherwise I don't think I'd be able to stop myself from coming back and giving you a really great wake-up call.

Her nipples tingled against the crisp cotton sheets as she imagined what said wake-up call might include. She texted him back.

Whatever you have in mind, save it for next time. I've got an itch nearly a year in the making for you to scratch.

She got out of bed and made her way to the small bathroom, grabbing her oversized purse along the way. After she used the toilet she took a quick shower, and as she rubbed the soap suds over her body, she noticed a faint bruise here, a love bite there. All the evidence that proved that yes, indeed, she had spent much of the last night having hot, headboard-banging sex with JT.

She did her makeup and pulled her wet hair back into a ponytail, then dressed in the change of clothes she'd stuffed into her giant purse. Before she headed out she checked her phone again to find another text from JT.

This time it was a string of emojis. Eggplant, eggplant, peach and fireworks.

She texted back a thumbs-up and a smiley face, gathered up her stuff and headed back towards the lodge where her car was parked.

The rest of the day she felt like she was walking on air. Who needed antidepressants when you could have multiple orgasms courtesy of a sweet, smoking hot guy?

Even a day spent helping her mother sort through her father's things didn't bring her down. Well, not much, anyway. Though she and her mother teared up a few times as they cleared out his side of the closet and the drawers of his dresser, she was grateful her mom finally had the strength and willingness to start the painful process.

And later, when she got an email from her lawyer informing her that Gregory's lawyer had requested an extension on the house payment, it was barely a blip on the radar.

Instead of falling into a spiral of anger and anxiety, she quickly fired off a reply to her lawyer saying she couldn't afford to wait, and Gregory needed to figure out how to come up with the cash by the deadline. Then she picked up one of her father's flannel shirts and folded it for the Goodwill bin.

The only other downside to her day was that she'd be working at Adele's that evening instead of the ranch. Though a little break wouldn't be a bad idea. It wasn't like they were suddenly boyfriend and girlfriend and needed to be attached at the hip.

Not to mention, after such a long dry spell, she was tender and sore, her body reminding her with every move how long it had been. Even so, when she went to bed that night, she found herself tossing and turning, reliving ever kiss, every touch of his fingers, every stroke of his tongue and his cock. Until finally she slipped her hand between her thighs, found her own tender flesh and found some relief.

JT must have missed her just as much, she thought the next night, if the way he pinned her up against the cabin door as soon as it closed was any indication. Mouth hungry against hers, he hitched her short denim skirt up over her hips and yanked her underwear down her legs. His fingers plunged between her thighs and he gave a low rumble of satisfaction when he found her slick and wet.

"I've been thinking about this all damn day," he groaned as his fingers thrust deep. "Of you hot, and wet, ready for me."

"I've been thinking about you too," she whispered as her fingers dug into the muscles of his shoulders and she spread her legs to give him better access. Her breath came in hard pants as he circled her clit with his thumb, fingers thrusting deep. "I've been walking around turned on like this all day, thinking of you."

Her words seemed to flip a switch in him, as suddenly he withdrew his hand. She felt his hands go to his belt, heard the metallic clink as the buckle released, then the buzz of his zipper. "Hold on," he said when she would have shoved his jeans and boxers down his hips. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a foil wrapped condom.

"So you've become one of those guys then? Always ready for action," she teased.

"Only with you." He quickly covered himself and before she had time to think, he hooked his arms under her knees and pulled her legs around his waist.

Her body offered no resistance as he slid deep. He held her there, pinned to the door, supporting her weight with seemingly no effort. Helpless as she was, there was little she could do other than hold on for the ride.

He was different tonight, rougher, less controlled. Primitive.

No more JT the nice guy.

And she loved it. He took her with hard, relentless thrusts, his hips pounding against hers as she clenched and spasmed around him. Within moments she was coming hard, moaning against his mouth as pleasure roared through her. He was only seconds behind her.

He rested his head against the door as her legs slipped shakily from his hips. "Sorry I was a little quick on the trigger," he said finally and bent his head to give her a soft kiss on the mouth. "I'll try to last a little longer next time."

"Pretty sure I beat you to the finish line, cowboy."

He grinned. "As it always should be. How about we try that again, only this time we get naked first?"

Later, after they did exactly that, Colleen lay with her head against JT's chest as he propped himself against the pillows. Her hand traced through the dusting of hair on his chest as his made slow, lazy circles against her shoulder.

Her lids were heavy and she was just about to doze off when JT said, "Do you think maybe we should talk about what's going on here?"