by Kali Hart
“Maybe you can put me in your book then.” He cracks a smile, attempting to break the awful tension that has spun up between us. I try to laugh, too. But it’s forced so I stop. “Can you really deny there’s something between us?” he asks.
No, I can’t. That’s why I have to leave while I still can. But the words don’t find their way out of my mouth so he can hear them. I just stand there, mute.
Austin leans down and captures my mouth with his own. The kiss is hard and hungry. It’s pointless denying my feelings for him. They’re too powerful, and he’s extracting the truth from me with this fiery kiss. “Tell me you didn’t feel that and I’ll let you walk out of my life.”
He doesn’t give me a chance to answer, just helps me onto my horse.
AUSTIN
The ride back to Liz’s house is strained with uncomfortable silence. Mostly, I’m mad at myself. I should never have let things move so fast. Whatever pull exists between us is so much stronger than I ever imagined. Any sensible woman would be scared and run away. Hell, I’d already started planning our future and naming our kids when I was licking her juices off my fingers.
Until Liz, I never gave much thought to starting a family.
“Austin, I don’t want this to be it,” Liz says in her driveway. Her eyes are sad and pleading, and I’m forced to look away. “But I’m not ready to go all in. I’m not even ready for a relationship. This bakery really is important to me.”
I want to kiss her again until she admits the truth—that she’s afraid. But I’m not a jackass. “I don’t want this to be it either, Liz. But I’m kind of an all or nothing guy.”
“I can’t offer you all right now.”
Is it sad to cling to those two little words? Right now. Hope emerges deep in the recesses of my heart. We might have a future.
I squeeze her hand from the safety of the driver’s seat. “I’m glad I met you.”
“Me too.” She slips out the truck and hurries to the front door as the last beams of sunlight fade. I should walk her to the door, but I can’t. I’m scared that the woman I’m meant to be with might’ve just walked out of my life for good.
Before I can put the truck in reverse, my phone rings.
“Hey Tex,” I say to my brother. “What’s up?”
“We’re thinking about getting on the road early. Colt has some interviews, and there’s some famous all you can eat rib joint Hudson wants to try. Thought we might head out a couple days early. You in?”
I can’t even remember where our next rodeo is at, but leaving town a couple of days ahead of schedule sounds great about right now. I need to get some space so I don’t do something crazy, like show up at Liz’s doorstep in the middle of the night and beg her to give us a chance. I’ve never been the begging kind, and I don’t care to start now. “Means we leave tomorrow then?”
“Yeah.”
“Count me in.”
6
LIZ
“Why are you home?” Gemma demands the second the door closes behind me. “The sun literally just set three seconds ago. You were supposed to be watching it with a rodeo cowboy.”
“The date’s over,” I say with as much nonchalance as I can muster. But deep down, I’m falling apart. I think I may have just made the biggest mistake of my life. What if letting Austin drive away tonight means I’ll never see him again?
“What happened?”
It’s too much to hope for privacy. Living with my sister means I can’t send her away. “We had a nice time. The end.” I strip out of my date clothes, leaving my bedroom door open. Gemma’s going to barge in if I close it anyway.
“Are you going to see him again?”
I let out a heavy sigh. “Doubtful.”
With folded arms, she barricades my exit. I plop down on my bed that’s still buried in half my closet. “I was going to put those away later because I thought you’d be riding a cowboy tonight. Was he a jerk? I’ll beat him up if he was.”
I sputter a laugh. “I love you, Gem. No, he was not a jerk. Not even a little.”
“Then what happened?”
I’m not ready to talk about the date yet, because I haven’t finished processing it all. A part of me feels like it was all too fast, and another part of me knows it was right. Meant to be. I shake the irrational thought from my mind. “Can we put on a movie first? Talk after?”
“I’ve been saving a bag of M&Ms just for this occasion. I’ll get the popcorn going.” She opens her arms for a hug. As much as I’d love to wallow in self pity alone, I’m really glad I have Gemma to hang out with tonight.
The movie was a bad idea. Halfway through, tears are rolling down my cheeks because I want what the couple in the movie has. And dammit, I want it with Austin. But something is still holding me back from going after what I want.
Gemma lifts the remote and pauses the movie. “Ready to talk now?”
“I’m scared, Gem. Scared it’s too fast. Too intense. Too crazy. What if I get sucked into this whirlwind relationship and lose sight of everything else? What if I never open the bakery because I’m too swept away with Austin and spend more time traveling to rodeos than actually making my own dream come true?”
“Did he ask you to give up your dream?” Her tone is neutral, but it packs a punch anyway.
“No.”
“Then what are you really afraid of?”
I’ve been mulling over the answer to this question since the moment I asked Austin to take me home. Though I thought I knew the real reason, I know deep down it’s a coverup for something grave. “Getting my heart broken.” You don’t get to fall hard for a man like Austin Wilder and recover from a breakup in any normal way. “I’m afraid losing him would destroy me.”
“With the way that man looks at you, Liz, I bet you’re wearing a ring in a month tops. If you go after him.”
“But—”
“Look, breakups suck. But not giving someone special a chance … is that really how you want to live your life? Because the Liz Hollingsworth I know isn’t afraid of much. She’s opening her own bakery, for crying out loud. I’m pretty sure she just learned how to ride a horse today, too.”
“What do I do?” I don’t haven Austin’s number, and I’m afraid that driving over to his ranch in the middle of the night might send the wrong message. I don’t want him to think I’m there for some late-night booty call. I want him to know I’m ready to go all in.
“Use the skills the Lord blessed you with, honey. Bake!”
I practically tackle my sister in a hug. Pillows and popcorn go flying. “Gem, you’re brilliant!”
AUSTIN
I’m tossing my duffle bag into the bed of my truck, ready to drive over to Tex’s corner of the ranch when I see a tiny silver car speeding down the dirt road. We don’t allow solicitors or uninvited guests on our ranch after some paparazzi snuck in a few years back. But I don’t recognize the car or know why it’s headed to my cabin.
I lean against the front of my truck and wait.
Despite the flying dust, those intense green eyes are hard to miss.
Liz.
She came back.
I swallow hard. Another ten minutes and I might’ve missed her completely. Though hope has suddenly burst inside me, I tamp down my excitement and keep my guard high. It felt wrong to sleep alone last night. Like half of me was missing. But I won’t back down. If Liz can’t go all in, I can’t do this at all. Because once I’m inside her, she’ll be mine forever.
“Are you leaving?” Liz’s voice is softer and sweeter in person than from my dreams last night, of which there were plenty. Some delicious aroma sifts through the air. Maybe cinnamon? Whatever Liz is holding in her hands is hidden by a dish towel.
“Brothers and I were going to head to Tennessee a few days early,” I say, dialing in my cool and casual demeanor I use so often at the rodeos. “Supposed to head out in a few minutes, actually.”
“Oh.” Her bright eyes dim and she nearly fumbled the covered dish in
her hands. “If this is a bad time, I can go.”
“Wait.” The plea is out before I even have time to decide if I want to say the word. “You came all this way. The least I can do is hear you out.” I fish my phone out of my pocket to let Tex know I need a few more minutes.
Liz lifts her dish in offering. “I brought cinnamon rolls.”
Maybe I’ll need more than a few minutes. “Why don’t you come inside?” I take the dish from her, our hands grazing. The electricity from yesterday hasn’t disappeared. In fact, it’s amplified. If we go in through my door, I might not make the road trip with my brothers. In fact, I might have to fly just to get to the rodeo by the weekend.
“They’re fresh out of the oven,” Liz tells me as she follows me to the kitchen. “You should try one. See if I was telling the truth or not.” There’s that light flirty edge I’ve been missing.
I remove the towel, and the aroma that hits me is heaven. “Orgasm in my mouth, huh?” I give her a wicked smirk that lets her know exactly what I’m thinking as I take a generous bite. And holy shit, she’s right. “Wow.” I tear off another piece. “Liz, these are amazing.”
“Told you.”
I finish one roll—I don’t want to be rude now—and go to wipe the frosting off my fingers. But Liz grabs my wrist to stop me.
“Let me.”
She takes my fingers into her mouth and, one by one, sucks the frosting clean off. My dick presses against my zipper. I’m losing the will to resist her—and for the record I don’t want to resist her—but until I know she’s all in… “Liz.” I take a step back. “Why’d you come here?”
“To apologize, for starters.” She takes a step closer. “I’m sorry I ran away yesterday. I was afraid of what I was feeling between us. Afraid of getting hurt.”
She feels it too.
I shoot Tex a message to let him know to leave without me. I’m not leaving this house until I’ve ravaged Liz in every single room. We’re starting with the kitchen. “You’re all in?”
“I’m all in, Austin.”
7
LIZ
In a flat second, we’re wrapped around each other in the middle of the kitchen. Hands desperate to roam our bodies, lips and tongues welded together, hips pressed hard against each other. It’s no question how much Austin wants me right now. His hard length is pressed against my belly.
“I want you inside me, Austin.”
His hands slide down my shoulders and stop on my boobs. Our lips break apart just a feather’s distance. “Are you ready for what that will mean?”
I swallow hard. It means I’m making a commitment—a serious commitment with a man who has the power to shatter my heart. But he also has the power to love me in ways no one else could even dream of. I know that in the depths of my soul. “I’m ready.”
In seconds, our clothes are scattered on the kitchen floor. His hand dives between my legs and teases my swollen bud. “So wet for me.”
I wrap his massive cock in my hand and softly stroke him, pushing aside any rational fear about how he’ll fit inside me. Deep down there’s no question he’ll fit perfectly. We’re made for each other. If soulmates are real, he’s mine.
Austin cups his hands under my ass and lifts me onto the counter like I weigh nothing. I should have all kinds of objections about having sex on the kitchen counter considering I’m a baker, but right now I don’t care where we are or how we do it. I just need him inside me. I spread my legs in offering. “I need you, Austin. Now.”
The counter proves to be the perfect height as he guides his cock to my entrance. He coats himself in my wetness before nudging his way inside. His hands shackle my hips and help me invite him in deeper and deeper.
I gasp at the sheer euphoria I feel when he’s all the way seated. Everything feels right in this moment—meant to be. It’s possible I’m even in love with this man. With his dark eyes penetrating my own, I’m sure he knows it too. I feel like he can see deep into my soul. I couldn’t keep a secret from him if I wanted to.
Wrapping my legs around his hips and locking them with my ankles, we find a rhythm that feeds our hungry desire. He teases my clit with his thumb. It no time at all, I’m on the edge. Stars emerge behind my hooded eyes as pleasure consumes my entire body. I cry out his name as he thrusts into me over and over. I’m sensitive, but I don’t want him to stop.
“Come inside me, Austin,” I beg. “Claim me.”
He thrusts hard three more times then holds me tight against him as he moans against my neck and his seed fills me. “You’re mine now, Liz. No more running away.”
“Never.”
AUSTIN
My phone is filled with texts from all three of my brothers. I’m tempted to ignore them so I can take Liz into the bedroom. I’m not ready for either of us to put clothes back on yet. But if I don’t reply, the whole gang might come knocking on the door.
“Just have to let my brothers know to head on without me today,” I tell Liz after a long kiss. She’s still on the counter, and I’m not ready to let her down yet.
“I don’t want you to leave,” says Liz, “but I know you have a job to do.”
“They’re going early. I have a couple of days before I have to get on the road myself. And I’m planning to spend as much of them as I can naked with you.”
After a couple replies—mostly them giving me shit for being hung up on a girl—I set the phone down. It’s then that I notice the distant look in Liz’s eyes. I step between her legs, not surprised that I’m already growing hard again. I suspect that’ll always be the case with this woman.
“What is it?” I ask.
“I love the idea of being naked with you for two whole days, but I also don’t want to lose sight of what’s important to me. I have a business plan to finish, and I’m supposed to meet a realtor tomorrow about a possible space to lease.”
I cup her neck with both my hands and give her a delicate kiss. “I love you, Liz. I want to see you achieve your dreams. I promise not to keep you from anything important. I’ll help you if you want me to. You just have to tell me what you need from me.”
“You love me?”
“Completely.”
“I never thought something so fast could feel so right. But it does. Maybe that’s what scared me most of all. I love you, too, Austin. Very much.” She draws me in for a kiss steamy enough to make my dick all the way hard.
“But I will need you naked for the better part of today.”
“Done.”
“Good. Now that that’s settled, how do you feel about riding a cowboy?”
Epilogue
AUSTIN
“You ready to surprise Mommy?” I say to our daughter Sky.
“Yes!” Her green eyes—compliments of her mother—sparkle with excitement.
To say that I’m proud of my wife is an understatement. Liz Wilder has accomplished so much in the time that I’ve known her. She’s not only opened her bakery, but she’s had to expand and hire more employee to keep up with the high demands. Business is booming, and her cinnamon rolls are a top seller.
“Stay right here,” I tell her as I move to shut off the lights. Today is Liz’s birthday, and despite my insistence that she take the day off, she refused. So Sky and I baked her a special surprise we found in an old recipe box.
My daughter stands on a stool behind the kitchen counter, and I stand behind her. I’d do anything to keep the girls in my life safe. Including our newest addition due in four months.
The deadbolt clicks open. “Shh,” I tell Sky.
“Hello?” Liz calls out. “Anyone home?”
Sky is forced to muffle a giggle. She thinks this is the best and funniest thing she’s ever been a part of. Soon, we’re both laughing and fighting to hide it.
“I hear you guys,” Liz calls.
The light flips on. “Surprise!” Sky and I yell in unison.
“What is this?” There are instant tears in Liz’s eyes. Partially it’s the hormones, but I know
she’s truly touched. Sky wants to grow up to be a baker just like her mom. I have to admit, the kid did a lot of the work. She has the knack.
“It’s your birthday cake!” Sky announces. To this little girl, everything is exciting and thrilling. It’s my favorite thing about her. She teaches me on a daily basis to be present and appreciate each and every moment.
“You guys didn’t have to do that.” Liz swipes at the tears and comes around the counter to give us a family hug.
“It’s a special cake,” I tell her. “All Sky’s idea, though.”
“It’s a cinnamon roll cake!” Sky announces.
I shrug at her surprise. “We found one of your old recipes.”
I give my wife a kiss that makes Sky wiggle free beneath us. “Happy Birthday, sweetheart.” Against her ear, I whisper, “Tonight you’ll get the rest of your present. Three or four times.” I slide my hand between her legs when Sky turns her back to us, applying pressure as a promise of future pleasures.
“I can’t wait,” she says in a breathy whisper.
“Can we have cake? I want cake!” Sky demands, forcing us to save the naughty fun for later. “Cake!”
“Yes, sweetie,” says Liz. “I can’t wait to try your amazing cake!”
I’m so damn happy that this is my life.
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