Gentling the Cowboy(81)
Sarah wrapped her arms around his waist. He loves me! “It took you long enough to realize it.”
He pulled her to his side, kissed her upturned lips softly, and said, “From the moment I found you in my shower, I knew my life would never be the same.”
“In a good way?”
He kissed her cheek. “In the best way. When do you want to get married?”
Sarah laughed. “You’re not going to ask me first?”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “I’m not giving you the option of saying no. But you can pick the date as long as it’s soon.”
“You are one pushy cowboy,” she teased.
For a long moment, he looked down into her eyes ,and she glimpsed the sadness that had originally drawn her to him. “I love you, Sarah, and I am a better man because you came into my life.”
Sarah hugged him possessively. “Well, don’t change too much. I have a few things left on my list, and I don’t think they are nice-guy approved.”
A huge smile spread across Tony’s face. “List?”
Looking down at his chest, Sarah said, “It’s a bucket list.” Or more accurately titled: My Fuck-it List. Sarah chuckled at the thought that she wasn’t quite brave enough to share that out loud. I should write that joke down.
Tony held her back from him and waited until she looked up at him. “Tell me.”
My notebook can wait.
“Let’s go home,” Sarah said playfully and whispered seductively against his lips, “I’d rather show you.”
Chapter Twenty-four
The next morning, dressed only in one of Tony’s plaid shirts, Sarah left him sleeping in their bed and slipped away to the bathroom for a moment. She looked in the mirror and smiled. Her hair was loose in a tangled mess. The makeup she hadn’t taken the time to remove was smudged beneath her eyes. I look like we spent the night doing exactly what we did. Eventually one of us will have to go downstairs for food, and I can’t look like this if there is any chance it might be me.
She turned on the water and slid off Tony’s shirt. A few moments later, Sarah closed her eyes and sighed as she relaxed in the full tub. She smiled as she replayed every wonderful, hot moment of the night before. They’d barely made it in the door before they’d ripped each other’s clothing off and had sex on the stairs.
Eventually, temporarily spent, they’d cuddled in his bed and talked. He told her about the changes he wanted to make at his ranch and she told him about her plans to self-publish her stories. Her heart nearly burst with pride when he explained that he’d given a house to Melanie. He wasn’t a man who boasted about what he did. He told her because there were no more barriers between them. No more secrets.
“Did you hear any more from Lucy about her ranch? I made the call. Don’t know if it did much good. I figure we should send David out there to see what’s going on. He’s good with the business side of ranching.”
“You’d do that?” Sarah had asked in awe.
He’d kissed her and said, “I would do anything for you or those you care about.”
And she believed him because, as frustrating as it sometimes was, Tony was a man who didn’t say a word more than he meant.
Breshall Haas is sure going to be busy, because book three is already coming alive for me. My two broken characters will finally bring each other as much comfort as they do passion. She smiled as she remembered how Tony had looked tied to the bed at the cabin, as willing to be taken as she ever was. She sank deeper beneath the warm water and watched the book play out in her imagination like a movie.
Happy endings are always easier to write when you’ve found your own.
Wrapped only in a towel, Sarah walked back into the bedroom and saw Tony happily reading her notebook. He put it down on his lap and said, “That will always remind me of the day we met.”
Sarah looked down and laughed. “Let’s not tell anyone that story, deal?”
He smiled and held up her notebook, revealing the evidence of his excitement standing erect beneath the sheet. “I see you have been busy. I like your new story, but I have a few questions.”
Sarah sat and turned to face him, knowing that when she lifted her leg onto the bed she’d give him an intimate view. He sucked in a breath, his attention no longer focused on her writing. “What did you want to know?”
He met her eyes, desire sizzling the air between them. “What?”
Sarah ran a hand down the sheet, caressing one of his thighs through the material. “You said you had questions.”
He reached behind her head and pulled her closer, murmuring against her lips. “It doesn’t matter.”