by Loraine, Kim
People stared. The actually gawked at me as I strode through the main lobby of the tall office building. I’m sure I stood out—all six foot four of me in Wranglers, boots, and my hat. I stood out like a sore thumb in a sea of suits. But I didn’t care. I had one goal, and that was to make Ever Wilson mine. I’d leave my heart at her feet and let her choose whether she kept it or tossed it aside, but at least I could say I tried.
“Hey, you’re the hottie from the Saddle Up spot,” a man said, pointing at me and grinning. “Made me want to learn to ride.”
I’d seen the commercial and didn’t think there was anything special in it, but I was sure word had gotten around about the show because there wouldn’t have been an offer for a second season if people weren’t excited. “Where can I find Ever Wilson?”
“Ever…uh, well, she was on floor twenty-six.”
I clapped him on the shoulder, and the guy winced—city boy. I stepped into the open elevator and punched the button for her floor. My heart was in my throat all the way up to twenty-six. Every time the car stopped to let someone on or off, my anxiety ratcheted up a notch. But then it was my turn, and I stepped out with renewed confidence. When I reached the receptionist, the woman stared at me as though she wanted to eat me.
“Uh…auditions aren’t for another week, Mr…”
“Ryker. Clint Ryker. I’m here for Ever Wilson.”
“Ryker, as in Ryker ranch?”
I grinned and took off my hat. “That’ll be the one.”
“One moment.”
She got on the phone and smiled at me as she waited for someone on the other line to answer. “Yes, um, Mr. Clint Ryker is here.” Her gaze flicked to the desktop and back to me. “Yes, I’ll send him back.”
She looked at me and her cheeks turned pink. “Straight back. It’s the office at the end of the hall.”
I nodded. “Thank you, ma’am.”
A nervous giggle escaped her. “You’re welcome.”
Then I strode down the hall, garnering curious stares from the people working in the cubicles. It didn’t bother me. Not with the prospect of seeing Ever so close. I focused on the goal, end of the hall. Ever was there at the end of this hall.
A guy sat at a desk to the left of the door I needed to get past, but I didn’t pay him any mind. He perked up when he saw me, standing and opening his mouth to speak as though I’d stop. Nothing was keeping me from my girl.
“Sir! Sir!” the guy squeaked.
I opened the door and burst into the office. “Ever, I—” Except I didn’t see Ever sitting behind the desk. I found a paunchy man who looked to be in his fifties.
“Mr. Ryker?” He stared at me over his reading glasses.
“Who the hell are you?”
“I’m Maxwell Gresham, the head of this network. What are you doing in my office? We didn’t have an appointment.”
“Where’s Ever?”
“Ever? Did you have an appointment with her? That assistant of hers was supposed to cancel everything while we transferred all of her projects to different producers.”
Dread curled in my gut. “Transferred. Why?”
“Ever quit a week ago.”
“Why would she quit? That doesn’t make sense.”
He shook his head. “Not sure. People don’t always make the most sound decisions.”
“No, that they don’t.” I put my hat back on my head and gave him a curt nod. “If she’s not here, then I’ll be going.”
I didn’t give him a chance to respond. I was out of there like a spooked horse. I didn’t belong here, and the woman I wanted wasn’t where I thought she’d be. It was time to go home.
As I walked back the way I came, I heard the whispers. “Said she fell in love with a cowboy. Wonder if he’s the one?”
I stopped in my tracks and locked gazes with a woman who was standing in the corner. She had crimson lips and dark hair and a smirk that said she knew the truth. I made a beeline for her.
Eyes wide, she took a single step back before shoring up her confidence. “You’re the one.” Her voice was strong and confident.
“I’m the one. Where is she?”
* * *
Ever
I sat back on my couch, scrolling through my Netflix watch list in search of something I didn’t have to pay attention to but would still distract me from the rest of the world. I’d gone full Bridget Jones. A pint of ice cream sat melting on my coffee table, an open bottle of wine with a crazy straw sticking out of the top next to it, and I was dressed in my robe at two in the afternoon. I’d been unemployed for the last week, but that wasn’t the reason for my hereto life choices. Clint hadn’t made any effort to contact me, and after hearing the news about their second season, I didn’t think he would. I couldn’t go back to the ranch now that he’d so clearly drawn a line in the sand. He didn’t want me. I turned him down, and he was letting me go.
So now, here I was, heartbroken, unemployed, and likely to end up evicted because I’d done nothing to try and find a new job. I was officially at my lowest point.
Tears sprung to my eyes as I stopped scrolling on the picture of Big Sky Cowboy, a romance novel turned TV series. The last thing I needed was more hot cowboys. But, being a glutton for punishment, I clicked on it and the credits started rolling.
And then there was a knock on my door. “Go away!” I shouted.
“Don’t think so, darlin’.” Clint’s voice sent panic and heartache and need careening through me all at the same time.
“Clint?” I asked, my voice high and reedy.
“Can you let me in?”
I glanced around at the state of the place and grimaced. “Um, yeah. Give me a second.”
Racing around the living room, I grabbed all the trash I could find and shoved it into the trashcan, then ran into my bedroom. I couldn’t see him like this. With my unwashed hair and stubbly legs. He’d probably run back to the ranch as soon as he saw me.
I sprayed some dry shampoo on my roots and ran a brush through my hair before brushing my teeth and changing into real clothes rather than pajamas. Then, when I knew I couldn’t keep him waiting any longer, I opened the door.
Clint Ryker stood at my doorway, hat in his hand, eyes pained, lips drawn into a tight line, but still devastatingly handsome.
“Ever,” he said, his voice rough and desperate.
“What are you doing here?” I couldn’t make my voice stay steady even though I tried.
He stepped over the threshold and walked right into my life. “I needed to see you. I went to your office.”
He did? I bet that went over well.
“I quit.”
“Yeah, I got that.”
He placed his hat on my kitchen counter before leaning against the wall, looking every inch like the sexy as sin cowboy I’d been fantasizing about every night, and sometimes during the day too. I wanted to kiss him, but there was caution and unease written all over him.
“So you, what? Got on a plane because you wanted to see me?”
“Exactly.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
Eyes hard, he stared at me. “It does if I love you.”
My heart stuttered. That was not what I expected to hear. “You what?”
He smirked. “You heard me.”
“If you love me, why would you give the network the green light for a second season? You knew about the clause. You knew that would just add to…”
“I asked for the clause to be removed before signing.”
My words stuck in my throat. “Y—you did?”
“Yes.”
“Why would you do that?”
“I just told you. I love you, Ever. I did it because I love you, and I saw an opportunity to fix the problem that was keeping us apart.”
I laughed. “It’s not just that. It’s everything.”
“What’s stopping you from being with me? Because I’m here. I’m all in. All my cards are on the damn table. I want you. I love you. Ther
e’s no clause. No risk. What’s keeping you from this?”
Tears threatened to spill down my cheeks as I searched my heart for any reason. He’d proven so much by coming here and telling me how he felt. No one had ever come for me. All they did was leave. But not him. I was the one who did the leaving last time.
“Nothing.” I stepped toward him and took his hands in mine. “Absolutely nothing is stopping me.”
Hope lit in his eyes. “Ever?”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’ve lived my life reliant on myself since I was a kid. I never let anyone get close. But you, you came in and tore down my walls with a sledgehammer, and I wasn’t prepared. I didn’t come to Ryker ranch to fall in love. But that’s what happened. I fell in love with your family, your ranch, and most of all, you.”
He wrapped me in his arms, and I inhaled his leather and smoke scent, needing to take it all in. “Come home with me? Come back for Christmas.”
“I’d love nothing more.”
Then he tipped up my chin and kissed me hard. It wasn’t the kind of kiss that said I love you. It was a declaration of pure animalistic need. “Bedroom,” he whispered against my lips.
Apprehension shot through me. I was definitely not bedroom ready. “Um…I may have neglected things a little since we last saw each other.”
“Do you really think I care? I love you, every part of you.”
I bit my lip as I thought about that. He’d had me half frozen on a couch in a snowstorm after we’d both spent the day riding, but this was different somehow. “I’ll feel more comfortable if I at least shower first.”
“Okay, but don’t take too long. I’ve been without you more time than I’d like already. I might have to come in there after you.”
I couldn’t fight my blush. The idea of him and me in a shower together did things to me. I’d have to put that on our list of things to do. But not today. “Two minutes,” I called as I darted into my bedroom, then raced to the attached bathroom.
I showered, shaved, buffed, and polished, making sure I was squeaky clean just so he could get me dirty in a different way. Excitement and arousal coursed through me as I stepped out of the tub and wrapped myself in a towel. I twisted my hair up in a microfiber hair towel before wiping the steam off my mirror and staring at my bright, shining eyes. This was not how I saw my day going, but damn, was it my fantasy come to life. Nerves made my stomach flutter. This was different from being stuck together due to a storm, with firelight and whiskey to set the tone.
What if this time, in the bright light of day, he realized we weren’t as compatible as he thought?
I pressed my palms to the countertop and took a few steadying breaths, then I pulled the towel out of my hair and ran my fingers through the damp strands. “Here we go,” I murmured to myself.
Clint was seated on my couch, his attention on the TV…and I was mortified. Big Sky Cowboy was playing on the screen. Oh, God.
He turned toward me, and all the amusement left his face. “You…you’re…wow.”
“You’re a man of few words, but they’re usually the right ones.”
Standing, he walked toward me, his gaze never leaving mine. “I’ve missed you so fucking much, darlin’.” His voice was a gravelly rumble filled with raw honesty.
“I’ve missed you too. It was the hardest thing…leaving you. But I thought I was doing what was right for both of us. Protecting you and myself.”
“I see that now. But it’s not up to you to do this alone. I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure you never see yourself as alone again.”
I stood on my toes and brought my lips to his, memorizing the feel of his mouth on mine again, and before I knew it, he had me in his arms and was walking us back to my bedroom.
“So, your Netflix history showed me you’ve got a thing for cowboys,” he teased.
I shook my head. “Just one cowboy in particular.”
Tossing me onto the bed, he nodded and growled, “Damn right.”
16
Clint
Ever was draped across her bed, still wrapped in a towel. My perfect present, ready to be unwrapped and enjoyed. I didn’t know how, but we were going to make this work. If I had to fly out here to see her every other week or bring her to me, I’d do whatever it took.
“What are you looking at?” she asked, sliding her knees together before biting her lower lip.
“My future.”
She grinned and laughed. “Again with the swoony lines.”
“I’m not apologizing. It’s the God’s honest truth. I’ve never loved anyone, not like this. If you’ll have me, I’ll be yours until you cut me loose.”
“I don’t want to cut you loose.”
My hands shook as I began unbuttoning my shirt. Why was I nervous? I was getting everything I ever wanted. But maybe that’s what this was. It felt too good to be true. Fresh off the heartbreak she dealt me, I couldn’t let myself believe she really loved me.
She opened the towel and bared her gorgeous curves to me as I shucked my shirt. Then I sat on the side of the bed and pulled off my boots. Her body pressed against mine from behind, luscious breasts on my back as she wrapped her arms around me and layered kisses to my neck. “Jesus, Ever.”
No words left her lips as she continued trailing them across my shoulder before she nipped my flesh with her teeth. I was rock hard and ready to be inside her, desperate with the need for her heat. Gently, I moved away from her so I could take off my jeans and the two of us would be nothing but sheets and warm skin on that bed. I didn’t want anything between us. No hurried fucks with my pants barely down my thighs. I would take my time with her, savor the perfection of the woman made only for me.
Her eyes widened as her gaze traveled down my body, and she stopped on my aching length. “You’re so big,” she whispered.
“You’ve seen me before.”
She shook her head. “Not like this.”
Her small hand brushed the crown, and I sucked in a sharp breath, thrusting forward before I could stop myself. I nearly lost it when she licked her lips and wrapped her palm around the base of my shaft. “Move your hand. God, please.” My words were tight through gritted teeth. I was desperate for her.
A slight nod was my only answer before she slid her hand up and back down, over and over, making me painfully hard. Then she leaned forward, and the tip of my cock was kissing her lips before…fuck…she took me inside her perfect mouth. “Shit,” I groaned, reaching out and gripping her hair with one hand.
She swirled her tongue, sucked long and hard, brought me to the edge of orgasm before stopping at the exact right time. She did this over and over until I was sure I’d die right then and there. I was a panting, sweating mess of a man by the time she sat back on her heels and grinned. “God, I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.”
“You…” I said through heavy breaths. “You can do that whenever you fucking want to.”
“Noted.” Then she reached for me and lay back, legs spread, pink pussy glistening with need…need for me. “My turn.”
I didn’t need her to tell me twice. Fitting my shoulders between her legs, I opened her to me and licked a long line up her pretty cunt. She moaned and squirmed and I loved every second of it. “That’s it, darlin. Tell me if you like it. I want to hear you.”
“Oh, I like it. God, Clint, I like it so much.”
I sank a finger inside her and grinned as she bucked. But the real show didn’t start until I pulled the tight bud of her clit into my mouth and began sucking, tasting, teasing. She cried out, clawed at my hair, dug her heels into my back with nearly painful force. One finger became two, and my city girl exploded in a limb tightening, back bowing, desperate keening kind of orgasm.
As the final flutters of her pleasure died down, I pulled my fingers from her body and said, “You taste better than I imagined.”
Her cheeks burned red, and she covered her eyes with one hand. “No, I don’t.”
I pulled her p
alm away from her eyes and made her watch as I sucked each of my fingers clean of her arousal. “I want more.”
Feral desire blazed in her eyes then, and she wrapped her legs around my waist before lifting her hips in search of my dick. “I want you. Inside me. Right the fuck now.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I murmured, fitting the blunt head of my erection at her slick entrance. I sank in slowly until she squirmed and whimpered. She needed more, and who was I to deny her?
In one smooth thrust, I buried myself to the hilt, making both of us cry out at the overwhelming sensation. Her thighs trembled around me, and her palms cupped my face. “Don’t look away.” Her voice was soft and vulnerable. “I need you to look at me when I say this.”
“I’m here.”
“I love you.”
My heart felt like it might burst. “I love you too.”
“Good, now take me for a ride around the arena, cowboy. We’ve got some lost time to make up for.”
When she came this time, her neighbor pounded on the wall so hard the wall sconces shook. I followed, spilling deep inside her, wondering if there would be a day we’d do this with the goal of putting a baby in her. The thought of having a family with Ever made everything feel right. Wonder turned to hope for a real future together that included wedding vows and children, school plays, and summer nights on the ranch watching the sun go down while our kids played. I wanted a life with her. It was a far cry from what I’d pictured with Jess and proof that when you know, you know. I knew with Ever. There wasn’t any doubt in my mind. She was it for me.
We lay there together, her head on my chest, fingers playing along the muscle that defined my hipbones. It tickled, but I tolerated it because I didn’t want her to stop touching me.
“When do you want me to come back to the ranch? For Christmas, I mean.”
I placed my palm over hers and squeezed. “As far as I’m concerned, you can come back with me tomorrow and never leave. But you have a life here. I know you have things to take care of and plans to make since you quit at the network.”
