Total pages in book: 12
Estimated words: 11309 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 57(@200wpm)___ 45(@250wpm)___ 38(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 11309 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 57(@200wpm)___ 45(@250wpm)___ 38(@300wpm)
Lucy just laughs. “We didn’t want to stand in this line, so I snuck us in the side door. I left her over by the punch bowl, but you’d better hurry. I saw a few of your cowboys eyeing her.”
My voice is strained and barely controlled. “They fuckin’ know better.”
I’m on the move, leaving my sister to meet the remaining guests. When I spot Daisy, I about trip over my own boots. She’s fuckin’ gorgeous, but she always has been to me. I slow my steps but only because I know if I keep going like I am, I’m not going to be able to control myself. She finally spots me, and even from where I’m at, I can feel the heat in her gaze. When I stop in front of her, I put my hands on her shoulders. “You’re beautiful.”
She starts to shake her head, but I tighten my hands on her shoulders. “You’re the prettiest woman here, Daisy.”
She bites her lip, and I can see the way she wants to believe what I’m saying. I’ve hurt her so many times, I can understand why she would doubt me. My job for tonight is to make her believe it. Her hand goes to the necklace I gave her. “Cash, Lucy said this was your mom’s. I’ll return it tonight.”
“Fuck no you won’t,” I tell her and instantly regret the harsh tone. “Sorry. I mean, I want you to have it. If my mom was here, she would want me to give it to you.”
She wants to ask me why, but I can’t tell her that. Not here in front of half the town. “Dance with me.”
She looks around the room and then back up at me with a smirk. “There’s music, but no one is dancing.”
“Daisy, it feels like I’ve waited a lifetime to hold you in my arms. I don’t care if anyone else is dancing. Dance with me.”
I hold my hand out to her and wait. I can easily manipulate her to the dance floor, but that’s not the way I want this to happen. The truth is, even though she’s well above age, she’s still ten years younger than me, and I don’t want to make her do anything she doesn’t truly want.
I’m holding my breath, waiting for her, and when she finally puts her hand in mine, I let out a huge sigh of relief. I lead her through the crowd of people, and when there’s an opening, I stop and take her in my arms.
She fits against me perfectly, just like I knew she would. With her hands on my shoulders, I circle her waist with my arms, pulling her against me. She holds herself stiffly, and I lean down to whisper in her ear, “You can trust me, Daisy. Let yourself go. I got you.”
She softens instantly, and I hold her closer. We sway with the slow country music, and before long, other couples have joined in, dancing too.
“You feel good in my arms, Daisy.”
She positions herself closer, and I know I should pull my hips back, but I don’t. She might as well know now what she does to me. My voice is gruff. “Sorry, but there’s no hiding my body’s reaction to you.”
She blinks up at me. “That’s because of me?”
I laugh and nuzzle my nose against her neck, breathing in her fresh, floral scent. “Yeah, baby, that’s because of you. I get like this when I think about you, see you and now, after I’ve allowed myself to touch you and take you in my arms, I’m afraid I’m not going to want to let you go.”
She breathes out my name. “Cash…”
I lean my forehead against hers. “Fuck, it’s probably good that we’re surrounded by so many people because I don’t trust myself with you alone. I’ve waited so long for you, Daisy, and I don’t want to wait anymore.”
“You’ve waited for me?”
I let out a breath slowly and steadily and try to figure out how much I want to tell her. “You were eighteen the first time you came home with Lucy, and I wanted you then. Fuck, I would have sold the ranch to have you. But I was twenty-eight, and my parents had just died. I had my brother and sister suddenly depending on me. I had to keep the ranch going. I couldn’t follow you back to school, and I couldn’t ask you to stay. So I waited.”
“You wanted me?” she asks.
I smile. “No. It’s not past tense, baby. I want you. I wanted you then, I want you now, and I’ll want you twenty, thirty, forty years from now.”
The smile that forms on her face is breathtaking. “You want me.”
There’s no question in it. She’s just stating facts. Maybe it’s the bulge of my manhood poking into her stomach or the way I practically devour her with a look, but she looks as if she finally believes me. “Fuck yeah, I do.”