Page 25 of Wrangled and Tangled (Raven Peak Ranch #1)
S pending time with Spencer’s family feels like fates aligned or some of that cosmic shit I’ve heard people talk about. Like we’re destined to be on this journey, and I’m just hoping it ends well. I’d rather not spend my life in jail for something I didn’t do.
“I’m gonna take Briar upstairs,” looking up the stairs with a tired sigh, he walks to where she’s sleeping on the porch swing and lifts her into his arms.
She whines but doesn’t wake. Instead, her arms circle her father’s neck, and she snuggles into his chest.
I hold open the screen door so he can maneuver more easily, and his eyes soften a touch, making me smile–a big, cheesy smile–because his walls just cracked. It may have been a smidge, but they fucking cracked.
Carrying her into the house, careful to avoid hitting her head on the door frame, he walks up the stairs and disappears from view. Returning a few minutes later, he’s huffing and puffing trying to catch his breath.
“She’s not so little anymore,” he laughs on another puff of air. “And I’m too old to be doing that.”
“I mean, what else are those big ol’ arms good for?” It slips out before I can think better of it.
His eyes widen a fraction before he’s shaking his head and walking to the ATV parked beside a Jeep in the driveway. Cranking it up, he drapes his arm over the open door and looks my way. “You need a ride? Or are you walkin’, Cowboy?”
Oh, I definitely want a ride, but it’s not on his ATV.
His belly pops out over his belt, and my body remembers the way my hardness met with his softness.
The memory alone makes my body ignite, but at this point, I’d settle for some cuddles.
The comfort and security I felt last time feels needed after the past two days.
Jumping in, he takes off, mindful not to make too much noise. I love this compound they have, such close proximity to family must be helpful for running the ranch and raising a kid.
“I’ll sleep in Briar’s room again,” he states, opening the door and walking in.
Thelma darts out from some unknown place, and I jump. “Holy hell.”
Spencer’s deep chuckle has butterflies taking flight in my stomach.
“I’m gonna need you to stop being so fucking hot if you’re not willin’ to give me a chance,” I blurt, “because it’s really hard not to like you.”
He squints and tilts his head, “You’ve known me for what? A week?”
“I know enough to know I’d like to ask you on a proper date. Hell, I’d settle for coffee, anythin’ to get you to notice me.”
He scoffs, crosses his arms, and takes a deep breath. “Since the rodeo that first night, all I’ve done is notice you.”
Taking a few steps closer to where I’m standing, he gets close enough that the smell of him, all cedar and smoke, envelopes my senses.
“My body tenses when you’re near. I can sense your eyes on me, like the sun meetin’ the sky. You’re all I ever notice when you’re around, and I hate it.”
His words send a shock wave to my nervous system. Wait… “Why do you hate it?”
Licking his perfectly cherry lips, he says, “Because I know how this goes, and I’ve got a daughter to think about.
Her feelings matter, and despite her insistence that I ‘ get back out there’, she gets attached too easily.
We’ve already lost too much for me to take a chance on you.
You’re a fuckin’ rodeo cowboy. You leave , it’s your job.
How can I entertain the idea of us and still look my daughter in the eye when you decide we’re not lively enough for you? ”
I’m taken aback by his words. It never occurred to me that Briar would get attached… to me. Fuck, now I feel like an asshole. Of course, he’s worried about who his kid gets attached to, and if roles were reversed, I’d hope I would feel the same.
“I can’t promise that it wouldn’t be challengin’,” I argue.
“Challengin’ ain’t what I’m after, Cowboy,” he whispers as he leans in closer. He blinks, eyes looking down at my lips before he passes me by and closes himself in Briar’s room.
“Goodnight then,” I shake my head, frustrated at his bullheadedness.
Turning off the lights in the kitchen after getting a glass of water, I trudge to Spencer’s room and climb into bed. Leaving my clothes on the floor, I snuggle into his sheets and inhale a deep breath. He smells like home, and I’ll cling to it as long as I can.
The next morning, the door creeps open as I’m blinking sleep away. Spencer walks in, careful not to make too much noise. Seeing him tiptoe around is like watching a bull in a china shop. My chuckle startles him, and his head whips my way.
“How long have you been awake?” He grumbles.
“Not long,” stretching my arms above my head, I catch a glimpse of him eyeing my body exposed by the sheets pooled at my waist. “Drink your fill, Daddy. I don’t mind.”
His face hardens as he lumbers to his closet, ignoring my comment. “Get dressed,” he rumbles from behind the closet door.
“Yes, sir,” I tease, hoping to get a rise outta him.
He doesn’t fall for the bait. However, I can’t see him while he’s in there, so to satisfy my poor heart, I’m imagining that he’s scowling and biting his lip. The thought makes my cock stand to attention, and I debate stroking myself in hopes the sight will entice him into a quickie.
Deciding against that, I do as he asked, slipping into the bathroom and getting myself ready for the day. I’m not sure what we’re doing, and I don’t really care as long as I have the opportunity to break down his walls until they crumble to dust.