Spurs 'n Surrender (Operation Cowboy Book 2)(53)

She glanced over her shoulder. “I distracted you?”

Snagging her around the waist with an arm, he lifted her off her feet and planted her beside him. “Yes, you do distract me.”

With her fingers curled into the front of his shirt and her eyes so wide and blue as she looked into his, he didn’t think he’d ever find more happiness. “What did you want to say?” she asked a little breathlessly.

He sobered. “It’s about yesterday in the house.”

A shadow crossed her beautiful face.

“I’m sorry I walked out and didn’t say anything to you, sweetheart. I regretted it the instant I did it.”

“Wydell—”

“No, it was wrong. You deserve to be held and kissed and told what a wonderful woman you are after sharing what we did.” Her eyes lidded at his words. Leaning in, he whispered, “And how tight your pussy is when it squeezes me.”

A breath expelled from her, and he couldn’t resist kissing her. For long minutes he plundered her mouth, taking the treasure of her little moans and the damp press of her denim-clad pussy against his palm. When she winced, he removed his hand. “You’re sore.”

“Nothing I can’t recover from with the help of a big cock.”

“Damn, who knew a beauty queen could have such a dirty mouth?”

“We all do,” she shot back with a flash of her eyes. “It’s a little-known secret of the pageant life.”

He caught her hands and stared down at her. “I really am sorry for walking out on you.”

“I shouldn’t have ridden you so much about sticking to the small house plans. I have to admit that the space is nice.”

“Really?”

She started up the trail again, but he drew her back to his side. If anybody was startling a rattlesnake while walking, it would be him. Around the rocks and especially near the caves, there were more dangers. But he wanted her to see the beauty and mystery of the caves. It was also a sort of induction into his lifetime family. The guys and Danica had been part of it forever, but Anya belonged there with them.

He waggled his brows. “You liked the new house addition because of the orgasm I gave you there.”

A smile crept across her face. “No, it was definitely the skylight.”

He pinched her bottom, and she squealed.

“It’s a nice addition. I don’t think we should add one onto every home we build, but maybe each house doesn’t need to be a cookie cutter version of the last.”

Excitement flooded him. “I have so many ideas I’d like to explore.”

“And I don’t want to hold you back. Have you ever thought of going back to school for architecture?”

He waved a hand. “That tank has rolled out. I have no desire for schooling. Besides, I can’t imagine being trapped behind a desk.”

“It’s true, you’re too much of a cowboy for that.”

He grinned. “I’d like to get enough money from my cut of the house sales to rebuild my own house on my family’s land.”

“Will your family come back to live in it?”

For a long heartbeat, he stared into her eyes. “No, we’d live in it. I want you with me, Anya.”

Her mouth fell open.

“I know you have a mansion somewhere and probably several summer homes but I’d like you to stay here with me.”

“Wydell…”

“I can’t give you a huge place with marble floors, but I can give you a lot more space than your Airstream. I’ll even give you a built-in flower vase.”

Tears filled her eyes, brimmed and spilled down her cheeks, and his chest burned. If she turned him down, they’d have just taken ten steps back. And all he wanted from now on was to move forward. To rebuild Los Vista with her at his side and lead a life of the peace he and his friends had fought for.

He waited. Wydell’s insides felt watery. He’d walked into the sights of the enemy without flinching but one little blonde vixen scared the hell out of him. His future hinged on her answer.

“When I drove into Los Vista, I had an overwhelming sense of coming home. I’ve never felt that way before. My home growing up, my grandparents’ homes…they’re all nice but something about this town…” She waved her hands as if trying to capture the essence of the place that was dear to them all. “I can’t explain it.”

He grasped her hands and lightly squeezed her fingers. “I know the feeling.”

They studied each other in silence before she gave a nod. “I know you do. And that you want to share it with me…” She choked on a sob and threw her arms around his neck.

Heart giving a wild leap of joy, he plucked her off her feet, his own throat closing with emotion. She’d just given him the world—and something to work harder for.



*



“I’m looking forward to a bath.” Anya pulled her sticky hair off her neck for the tenth time in as many minutes. Wydell had produced a bandanna from his bag, which she’d tied around her forehead Rambo-style. But somewhere she’d lost the only hair tie she’d brought with her and had been longing for it ever since.

“In your little trailer shower or one of those soup bowls you call a bathtub?”

She groaned. “Either sounds blissful. Right now I’d take a cattle tank.”