inside her open coat to grasp her around the waist. “Wish I could say I came out here to talk, but...Jess found a tracking device and a cut brake line on my truck.”
She gasps, her eyes wide, and she grabs my upper arms. “Ridge! They could have—”
“Kept me from having the best sex of my life?” I interrupt. “Yeah, tragic.”
“Will you be serious?” She rolls her eyes. “That’s bad news. Scary news.”
I pull her forward, firmly against me so she can feel how hard I’ll fight for her if any of those pricks show up where they shouldn’t.
“I know. I’ve got you. I’m not letting go.”
Smirking, I push my hips into hers, making sure she senses something else that’s hard and just as determined as my will.
“Stop it.” She’s trying not to smile. “I’m not falling for your games again. We need to focus on the bad guys.”
“We will.” I lean down, brushing a kiss on her temple. “And I recall the game being very, very mutual.”
She sucks in a sharp breath and releases it slowly.
“Fine. You win. Now can we—”
“Seems like the attraction’s pretty mutual, too,” I add. “As it should be, considering we’re engaged.”
“Fake engaged,” she quips, dropping her head against my chest. “You don’t hear me arguing, but we can’t just keep—”
“Why?” I interrupt. “Give me a good reason. We’re adults, we’re responsible, and we know full well what we’re doing.”
Lifting her head, she asks, “Oh? What are we doing? Besides ignoring thugs who were trying to set us up?”
“Fuck them. I said it’s under control.” Grabbing her ass, I press her harder against me. “All this talk when we could be doing something better.”
I grind out a sigh, pressing my forehead to hers, brushing my lips across her hot mouth like a kid with the forbidden candy.
“Ridge!” She slaps my shoulder, even while laughing. “Be serious.”
“Fine. I’m pulling together a backup with my crew. Faulk almost has his resources in place, and we’ll bring in Grady and Drake soon. The full force of the Dallas PD might not seem like much when it’s half a dozen deputies, but they’ll have our backs, and so will the Feds. Bet we’ve got more than a few agents just waiting for their chance to bust the Old Town Boys.”
She melts against me, relief already filling her. “You’d best not be playing.”
“No, Scout’s honor. I’ll tell you another secret—I’ve had a hard-on that could hit a home run since I woke up. Only one way to fix that. The same cure we had last night. What was it, six damn times?”
“Ridge!” She swats playfully at my arm but can’t deny it.
God, she’s good for my ego.
Then her eyes flutter and her body trembles slightly as she squeezes my shoulders, burying her face in the nook of my neck.
“Ridge, listen...”
“I am. You want it, Grace,” I whisper, grinding against her. “Just as bad as I do.”
She groans, pursing her lips until they’re more like a thin, pale line rather than a decadent strawberry.
“That doesn’t mean we should do it again,” she whispers. “We should come to our senses. Pull back. Think about this.”
“Darlin’, I’ve done a whole lot of thinking ever since I woke up, and I’ve got one question for you.” I slide my hands under her shirt, rubbing her back, loving the heat of her skin on my fingertips. “You don’t want me inside you?” I kiss her cheek, slow and sultry as hell. “You don’t want these hips trying to break you again? Faster and faster, until you come your brains out?”
“Yes,” she groans. “I mean, no!”
I smile.
She’s such a terrible liar it’s adorable.
My cock jerks in my pants, dangerously encouraged.
“I think you mean yes,” I growl, my forehead to hers, walking my fingers up the small of her back, her spine, until she shudders. “Tell me I’m not wrong.”
She whimpers again. “Yes.”
“Then we ought to do something about it. Now.”
The look she gives me is all the answer I need.
Then those lips are on mine, sweeter than wine, begging for everything she can’t bring herself to say.
One day, I’ll mess her up so bad, the small-town prude burns right out of her.
I’ll have her waking me up with her mouth, rewarding her dearly with hit-and-run flings when she least expects it. This woman makes me want to take her on a fuck-tour around the world, starting with this barn.
I love how honest she is, how genuine, though.
Finding the clasps on her bra, I work my fingers.
“You woke