Summer Love_ A Steamy Small Town Romance Anthology - Piper Rayne Page 0,170

the rental car at the bottom of the drive.”

For a minute, he thought he imagined the voice. He’d been hearing it for days, usually when he fell asleep. Then he awakened alone. He almost didn’t open his eyes, didn’t want it to be another mind trick. But hope, that fickle bitch, made him pry open his heavy lids and there she stood. He could only see her head, since there was a bit of a drop-off and she was on the ground in front of the deck.

He almost lunged for her, to touch her to see if she was real, only he wasn’t convinced so he stayed where he was. “Are you real or a figment of my imagination?”

She laughed, the throaty, sexy sound going straight to his cock. “It’s me, though I look a bit worse for wear. I took the red-eye from Montana, then it was kind of like Planes, Trains and Automobiles to get here. You did not make it easy to find you.”

“I didn’t think you cared.”

She winced. “That’s fair. Just, not exactly true. I was scared, Colt. Scared of my feelings. I tried not to love you, tried to keep our relationship to the physical so I wouldn’t get hurt.”

He scoffed. “How did that work for you?”

“Pretty shitty. Seems like it didn’t go so well for you, either.”

“Except I never denied that I was falling for you.”

She sighed. “Can I please come up?”

“You have to come in through the house. I’ll open the door.”

He pushed to his feet and strode through the cabin to unlock the front door. When he opened it, she stood on the other side, looking as gorgeous as when he’d first met her. God, she took his breath away. He reached for her, running his fingers over the tears on her cheek.

“You look beautiful.”

She sucked in a watery breath. “I’ve been traveling all night and day, and I haven’t slept much for a week. I look like something trampled by a herd of cattle.” She trailed her hands over several days’ growth of his beard. “I like your new look. You going to keep it?”

He shrugged. “Couldn’t be bothered to shave. No one to see me.”

He turned and walked back into the cabin, not even waiting to see if she would follow. What he really wanted was to grab her and pull her into his arms, kiss her senseless, beg her to stay, and never let her go. That wouldn’t solve any of their problems. They were explosive in bed, but he wanted so much more. He wanted it all.

She followed him onto the deck and sat in the other chair across from him. “I missed you.”

He stared at her, not giving an inch. She huffed out a breath. “You’re not going to make this any easier on me, are you?”

“What do you want me to say, Sierra? That you own me? That you have my heart if you want it? Then you do. What more do you want?”

She blinked, clearly stunned at his words. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times. “I didn’t expect you to say that. I thought you might say that you want to date a while longer.”

He laughed, a raw, bitter sound. “Fuck dating. I’ve dated and I know I’ve found what I want. You’re the one I want. I want everything. And I will give you everything.”

She blinked back tears, stunned by the fierceness of his words. “I had no idea you felt that way.”

“How would you? You were so determined to keep me at arm’s length, to keep us on a physical level. I was hoping to convince you to give us a chance for something more. But you walked away anyway.”

“And I was wrong. But I’m here now, if it’s not too late.” A hint of panic touched her voice.

He finally turned and looked at her, pain still twisting his insides. But there was something else. Hope. “How do I know you won’t run again?”

“You don’t. You have to trust me.” She stood and took his hand, kneeling next to him, firm determination in her expression. “I’m scared but I love you, Colt. I’ve been absolutely miserable without you. I always thought home was a place, somewhere to put down roots, but I was wrong. It’s about the people you love and who love you. Granite Junction is a place only it’s not where I want to be if I can’t be with you. I love you, Colt Raines. I’d follow