The whole way across the Barretts’ ranch, I’m second-guessing myself. I know I don’t have the strength to deny her. I was barely able to do it last night, and now, I know I won’t be able to tell her no.

  I’m about a half a mile out when the snowmobile starts to sputter. Even with the gas pushed all the way in, it comes to a halt. I climb off the machine and start walking toward the cabin. The snow is up to my knees, and it makes the trek longer, but there’s no way I’m going to stop. I feel as if I can finally breathe again when I see the smoke coming from the chimney and the lights on in the window.

  When I get to the front porch, the door swings open, and Maddie comes running out. “Oh my God, Rhett. Are you okay? Tell me you didn’t walk here. What were you thinking?”

  She wraps her arms around me, pressing her body to mine. I’m covered in snow, and I try to pull back, but she’s not letting go. I pick her up and carry her over the threshold and set her on her feet before shutting the door behind us. When she pulls back, her clothes are wet and her nipples are pebbled against her shirt. I stroke my hand across my face. “Go put some clothes on.”

  She giggles at my command, pushes me into a chair and then sits down on the wet floor in front of me. She grabs my boots and starts to tug them off me. I take my hat off and hang it on the hook over my head. I unzip my snowsuit and take it off, hanging it on the back of the chair. When Maddie reaches for the button of my jeans, I wave her away. “I got it.”

  She stands up and moves my boots over to the door before crossing her arms over her chest. “You have to take off all your wet clothes, Rhett.”

  I move toward the fire in my jeans and T-shirt. “My clothes are dry for the most part. I stole Elliott’s snowsuit.”

  Maddie comes to stand beside me. “Look, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t expect you to have to walk here. Where’s the snowmobile?”

  I gesture with my head toward the direction of the ranch. “It’s about a half mile that way. It stopped.”

  She moves beside me and puts her hands on my arm. “I’m so sorry, Rhett. I wasn’t thinking. I wanted you to come here. I wanted us to get stranded here together, but I wasn’t thinking… If you’d gotten hurt—”

  I cut her off. “You wanted me to get stranded here?”

  Guilt crosses her face. “Yeah, I wanted you here with me, Rhett, but I didn’t think… I’m sorry.”

  She looks down at the raging fire in the fireplace, and it’s not going to work. I want her eyes on me. I reach out and touch my finger to her chin and lift her head up. “Maddie.”

  She won’t look at me. “Yeah?”

  I take a step toward her, but she still won’t look at me. “Look at me, Maddie.”

  She closes her eyes, and I lean in. “Baby.”

  She opens her eyes and stares at me. I wrap my hand around her neck. “I shouldn’t have—”

  She cuts me off and grabs the front of my shirt in her hands. “No, no more shouldn’ts, no more regrets, no more pushing me away.”

  I reach for her and pull her against my body. My cock is hard and pressed into her belly. “I can’t push you away, not anymore. One night, Maddy. You give me one night, and then we forget this happened. We both know nothing can come of us.”

  I wait for her to argue with me, and I’m a little disappointed that she doesn’t. Instead, she repeats my words back to me. “One night.”

  CHAPTER 7

  MADDIE

  I know I’m lying as I mutter the two words to him. The truth is, at this point, I’ll tell him whatever he wants to hear if it means he won’t run away from me again.

  I go on my tiptoes to kiss him, but before I can, his stomach rumbles.

  I lower back down. “When did you eat last?”

  He shrugs his shoulders, and I swat at him. “Rhett, are you kidding me? I’m sure you’ve been up since the ass crack of dawn—”

  He cuts me off. “The ass crack of dawn? Really?”

  I shrug and walk away from him into the little kitchen. Luckily, I came prepared. I point at the table in the corner. “Sit.”

  I blush when he sees the small table already set with bowls and silverware on top of the napkins. I grab his bowl first and fill it with the chili that’s simmering on the stove. After I set it in front of him, I open the stove and pull out the cornbread that I left in there to warm.

  When I set it on the table, I push Rhett into his seat.

  “You really did plan this?”

  Thankfully, my back is turned, and he can’t see my embarrassment. “Yeah, I told you I did.” I wait until I’m sitting next to him before I ask him, “Are you mad at me?”

  He opens his mouth to answer, but I start to ramble. “Trust me, I hadn’t thought it all through. If something had happened to you, I don’t know what I would do.”

  He reaches across the table and wraps his big hand around mine. “I’m fine.”

  All I can do is stare at him. “But what if—”

  He shakes his head. “No, no what ifs. I’m fine, and I’m here now.”

  I shake my head and point toward the bowl in front of him. “Eat.”

  He eats the chili as if it’s the best thing he’s ever tasted. I barely touch it because I don’t have an appetite. I know I got him here, and I know we’re stranded.

  “What are you thinking?” He’s pointing at me. “Right now, why are you frowning?”

  I sit back in my seat. “Maybe this was a bad idea.”

  He drops his spoon in the now empty bowl and picks up a napkin to wipe his face. He scoots his chair out and turns to face me. “Okay. Why do you think that?”

  I lift my shoulders and avoid his gaze. Damn, this is so embarrassing.

  He grabs my chair and pulls me toward him until my knees are between his legs. He reaches for my chin and lifts it and searches my eyes. “Talk to me. Why is this a bad idea?”

  I wince just thinking about it. “Because I forced you here. I knew you’d come when you found out about me staying in the cabin. And now you’re stranded here with me. Basically, it’s like I’m forcing you to sleep with me.” I start to stutter. “I mean, we don’t have to sleep together… there’s one bed… but I mean, you don’t have to have sex with me.”

  I pull my chin from his hold and try to get away from him. The embarrassment is just too much to handle at this point. The more I struggle, the harder he holds on to me. When I finally stop trying to get away, I find myself in his lap. He nuzzles his face into my neck. “First of all, nothing is going to happen that you don’t want to happen.”

  I open my mouth, but he stops me. “Second, this between you and me was going to happen. Tonight, tomorrow, next week, there’s a limit to how strong I can be.” He cups my cheek and looks at me. “Yeah, this is still a bad idea.”

  “But—” I start.

  He smiles and shakes his head. “But I don’t want to fight it. For one night, I want to know what it’s like to have you in my arms. I want to lay in that small bed with you snuggled into my side and wake up with you lying next to me. Whatever happens between those times is a bonus, Maddie. But make no mistake, I want this. Whatever you’re offering me tonight, I want it.”

  I wrap my arms around his neck and lean into him. “Me too. I want you, Rhett, and I’m tired of waiting.”

  He picks me up from his lap and sets me down in the chair. I sit stunned and watch him clean up the dishes. “I can get those later.”

  He shakes his head. “I can do it now. And then I’m going to take a shower.”

  “A shower?”

  He nods. “Yep. I worked all day, and once I get in that bed, I don’t plan on getting out of it until the snow melts.”

  I bite my lip because whether he means to or not, his words excite me. I sit awkwardly until he finishes washing the dishes and putting away the leftovers. I’m not one for sitting around, so this feels weird to me. I get up from my chair. “Okay, I’ll just…”

  He turns and tosses the dish towel on the counter. “Shower with me.”

  I stumble on my own two feet, but he catches me, smiling. I shake my head because surely I didn’t hear him right. “Shower with you?”

  He nods, and while holding me, he starts walking me backward toward the bathroom. “Yes, I want you to shower with me.”

  Of course I want to shower with him, but insecurity settles in. The closer we get to the bathroom, the more I second-guess it. “So, uh, are we showering in the dark?”

  He shakes his head. “In the dark? How am I supposed to see you in the dark?”

  I raise my eyebrows. “Exactly. That’s the point.”

  He stops next to the shower and puts his hands on my shoulders. “You don’t want me to see you?”

  I scrunch my nose up. “More like, are you sure you want to see me? I’m a rancher, Rhett.”

  His eyebrows raise, and he looks at me with surprise. “I know what you are, Maddie, I’m just trying to figure out what you being a rancher has to do with anything.”

  I jut my chin at him. “I don’t diet. I eat when I’m hungry, and I’m not shaped like most women you would probably find attractive.”

  He’s trying not to laugh. His eyes are sparkling, and it’s obvious that he’s trying not to smile. I want to get on him about it, but the fact he’s smiling stuns me a little.

  His hands trail down my arms, and he grabs both my hands. “I find you very attractive, Maddie.” He leans in and whispers in my ear, “I tasted your cunt last night, baby. I’m completely fuckin’ hooked.” He kisses my ear and down my neck before whispering into my ear, “Let me see you.”

  I suck in a deep breath and try to give myself another pep talk. I can do this. He saw part of my body last night, and he seemed fine with it. I might as well show it all to him. As far as pep talks go, this one is pretty weak, but I take heart and put myself into action. I reach for the hem of my T-shirt and raise it a little. When I get to my midriff, I pause. “You sure about this?”

  His hands are fisted at his sides, and he’s completely focused on me. “Yes, I’m more than sure.”

  I nod, take a deep breath, and let it out before pulling the shirt up my body and dropping it to the floor. His eyes widen as his gaze travels down my body. He doesn’t even try to hide his appreciation. He’s openly staring at me as if he’s trying to commit it all to memory. The glazed look in his eyes pushes me on, and I reach behind me to unhook my bra. I let the straps fall off my shoulders, and with a strangled breath, I pull the bra from my breasts and let it fall to where my shirt is lying.

  He sucks in a breath. “Fuck me.”

  He moves toward me and then stops. “I need to touch you.”

  The way he says it, I know it’s true. I just smile at him and grab the button of my jeans. As I undo them and pull them down my hips, Rhett’s eyes watch my every move. I step out of them before putting my fingers in each side of my panties at my hips. I make quick work out of pulling them down my hips and stepping out of them before walking into the shower. “Come here.”

  Rhett pulls me out of the shower, and he holds me to him with my ass cupped in his hands. I rest my chin on his chest. “I thought we were showering.”

  He reaches behind me and turns the shower on. “Oh, we’re showering, but I need to heat the water up first.”

  I put my hands to his waist. “You’re a little overdressed for a shower, aren’t you?”

  He grabs the hem of his shirt and pulls it over his head. Then his hands find their way back to my ass. He squeezes me, and I lean my lower body against him. I knew that Rhett was built. I’ve seen him without a shirt before, but it’s different when I can feel the hardness of his chest under my hands. I run my fingers across his shoulders, over his nipples and down the hard plane of his stomach. When I get to his jeans, I mutter, “Still too many clothes.”

  He tilts his head to the side. “Well, you going to do something about it?”

  I raise my eyebrows and grab the button of his jeans. I undo it, pull the zipper down over the bulge in his jeans, and then have to put in a little effort to get them down his thighs and legs. He steps out of them, and I can’t drag my eyes off the tent his manhood has made in his underwear. He threads his hands through my hair and gives the strands a little tug. “You done?”

  My mouth is watering. I trace my finger down his happy trail and run my hand along the hem of his underwear. “I’m not even close to being done. I don’t know if I’ll ever be.”

  I stop and realize what I just said. This is supposed to be one night, and the last thing I want to do is freak him out, like I’m expecting more from him. I start to backtrack “I mean—”

  He tugs on my hair. “I know what you meant.”

  He pulls his underwear down and then steps with me into the shower. His body is pressed against me, and I tremble even though the water is warm. He cups my face. “You okay?”

  I nod. “I’m good.”

  CHAPTER 8

  RHETT

  This was a bad idea.

  Yes, showering with Maddie is one of the things I’ve dreamed about but never thought I would experience. Of course I want to pack everything into one night, but this was a bad idea. I’m already so hard I could explode. There’s no way I can handle her touching me right now.

  She moves closer to me, and I grab her wrists and hold them away from me. She freezes, and I see the exact moment when she understands why I’m holding her away from me, but I still grit out my reasoning. “I’ll literally blow if you touch me right now.”

  She smirks. “Isn’t that the point?”

  I stiffly shake my head. “No, it’s not.”

  Her eyes are wide, and she looks at me with innocence. “Really? You don’t want to come right now?”

  Before I can answer her, she’s dropping softly to her knees in front of me and her hand is wrapped around my cock. My hips have a mind of their own, and I plunge them forward into her tight grip. I grunt her name. “Maddie.”

  Her lips curve up, and she leans forward as she kisses the tip of my dick. I lean forward to block the spray of the water from hitting her in the face. “Fuck, Maddie. You don’t have to…”

  I cut myself off when words become too much. She has her mouth wrapped around my manhood, and she’s sucking me down her throat. My hand tangles in her hair, and I have to force myself to lighten my hold on her.

  Over and over, she sucks on me until I’m hitting the back of her throat. She’s relentless, moaning around my length, and I won’t be able to hold back. I try to move away, but her hand wraps around me and grips my ass, holding me to her. “Maddie, baby, I’m going to come.”

  Her lips turn up for just an instant and then she increases the pressure of her grip on me. I have no choice. I warn her before it happens, but she doesn’t move. My whole body starts to jerk, and I’m coming until I can barely stand on my shaky legs. When she pops off me, she swallows my seed and then smiles up at me. I pull her up from her knees and wrap my arms around her. All I can do is stand here and try to get myself together.

  She’s resting her head on my chest, and the water is hitting her on the back. When I finally get my breath, I huskily tell her, “Let me wash your hair.”

  She chuckles. “I can wash my own hair.”

  I lean back so I can see her face. “I want to do it.”

  For the rest of the shower, I wash every inch of her body. By the time I get to the apex of her thighs, she’s writhing in my arms.

  She grunts in disapproval when I turn the water off, open the door, and grab a towel. As I dry her off, I’m shaking my head at her. “Don’t worry. You’ll get yours.”

  She grabs a towel and reaches for me. I do my best to stand still as she takes her time drying me. I cup her face in my hands. “Are you cold?”

  She shakes her head.

  I pick her naked body up, and she squeals. We’re into the small bedroom before she says, “Why’d you ask me if I was cold?”

  “I didn’t want to, but I would have lent you a shirt.” I lean my head down and kiss her breast. “I like you better like this.”

  I set her on her feet, and I can no longer resist. I run my hands up and down her body, and it takes no time at all for my cock to be hard again.

  She leans her belly into my erection. “I thought most men couldn’t… you know… so soon after.”

  I’m sucking her breast into my mouth, and after one last swirl of my tongue around her pebbled nipple, I start to lick up her chest. “You do this to me, Maddie. Any time I’m around you, this is what happens.”

  Her smile gets even bigger, and she smacks me on the chest. “I’m done with waiting, Rhett. I’m ready. I’ve been ready, and we’re doing this.”

  I push her with my body until the back of her knees hit the bed and she falls backward. I follow her down and hover over her. All I can do is look at her face and wonder how the hell I got so lucky. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think this would be a possibility, but here I am. She widens her knees, and I fit my body between them. My cock is hard, pressed against her core. I already hate the words that are about to come out of my mouth, but I know I have to say them. “You can still change your mind.”

  In answer, she wraps her legs around my hips and pulls me closer. My cock slides along her slit, and her hips jerk while her legs pull me to her until we’re hip to hip. “Mmm,” I groan.

  Her hands slide up and down my chest. “I won’t be changing my mind, Rhett.”

  I lean my forehead against her chest. “Please tell me you’re on something.”

  She threads her fingers through my hair, and I feel the rumble from her chest as she laughs. “I’m on something.”

  I lift my head to look at her. “You mean…”

  I let my voice trail off, unable to put voice to my question.

  She reaches between us and wraps her hand around my girth. “I mean, I want you bare inside me, Rhett. I don’t want anything to be between us.”

 

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