Unbreak My Heart (Rough Riders Legacy #1)(45)

Boone said, “You do that,” in a throaty rasp I’d never heard from him. “In the meantime, I’m taking this.” He wrapped one hand around the back of my neck and clamped the other on my butt, pulling me in for a kiss.

I should’ve shoved him away. But his kiss was like a drug. Intense, determined, amazingly seductive, as if he was trying to convince me that his passion for me was—and always had been—real. That he’d been imagining this kiss for as long as I had. That he’d wanted it as much. Our mouths and tongues clashed and I slipped my arms around his waist, my hands clutching his shirt as if that could keep him here.

The kiss was beyond anything I’d ever experienced. Rough and sexy, bringing alive things inside me that I’d heard about but had never felt.

Then Boone slowed it down. The kiss became soft. An unhurried tease, as if we had all the time in the world to explore. To learn each other.

But we didn’t. By this time tomorrow, he’d be gone.

I kept kissing him even as my tears fell.

Then Boone’s hands were on my face, trying to wipe away the moisture.

He moved his mouth back; I felt his lips against mine and his breath in my mouth as he whispered, “Sierra. Baby, please don’t cry.” He planted tender smooches on my trembling lips. His mouth wandered down my neck and my entire body erupted in goose flesh. He nuzzled the sweep of my shoulder and stopped, breathing against my skin.

I had to bite my lip to keep from sobbing when he strung soft kisses along my collarbone, right where the injury from the car accident had hurt the most. But that pain was nothing compared to the pain I felt now.

Boone entwined his fingers in my hair and tipped my head back. His beautiful eyes were dark with remorse and something else, something that made my pulse quicken. “I knew it’d be like this between us.”

“But it’s still not enough.”

He didn’t answer. He just consumed my mouth again.

While kissing him was better than I’d dreamed, it still felt like someone was stabbing me in the gut with a rusty knife as Boone took the kiss deeper, until I feared I’d never get out.

I broke away first, resting my forehead to his.

“Sierra—”

“Don’t say anything.”

We stayed like that for a long time. Not looking at each other, clinging to each other, so close but so far apart.

I whispered, “I have to go.”

“Not like this.”

“There’s no other way. This was your choice.”

He placed one last soft kiss on my lips.

I pulled away from him. “Goodbye, Boone.”

“See you around, McKay.”

I hadn’t looked back. Not once. Not even in the rearview mirror when I bumped over the cattle guard.

I just drove away.


And for the first time, in a long time, when I thought of that night? It wasn’t as painful.

Maybe being older helped.

Maybe the passage of time helped.

Or maybe the fact Boone was back in my life again made all the difference.

With that surprising, comforting thought in mind, I finally fell asleep.





Two obnoxiously loud knocks sounded on my bedroom door Saturday night.

I didn’t have time to dive into my closet before Lu burst in and said, “Sierra! What the hell? Get ready for the party.”

“I’m not feeling it tonight, Lu.”

“Bull. You’ll feel it if you get your ass outta bed and into something slutty like this.”

My BFF had gone all out for the party. She’d tied the billowing ends of her low-cut poet’s shirt below her breasts, showcasing the flame tattoo around her navel above the plaid skirt. The rest of her outfit, fishnets and patent leather over-the-knee dominatrix boots, brought to mind Bavarian bar wenches. Despite the contrasting styles, I’d be damned if the outfit didn’t work. “You are da bomb, Lu.”

“I know, right? So get up and slip on the mermaid dress.”

I wore the mermaid dress—nicknamed such because the metallic material resembled shimmering fish scales and the skintight fabric fit to my every curve—whenever I needed a pick-me-up. “I already told you I’m not going.”

“You are killing me here. This isn’t like you. Lying in bed navel-gazing.”

“It’s been a rough week. I’m taking time to regroup and reassess.”

“Reassess tomorrow. Hit the party for one hour. If it sucks you can go.” Her pause lasted like fifteen seconds. “Kyler is your family. Today was a huge game for him. You know he wants you there helping him celebrate.”

“I was at the game, which is the important part. Besides, I doubt he’d even notice if I didn’t show up—and that is not a statement of pity.”

“It’s a statement of fear. You’re skipping the party because you’re afraid Boone will be there.”

“Afraid?” I snorted. “Uh, no.”

Lu flopped on the edge of my bed. “You’re giving Boone way too much power. You were happy living your life before he showed up. And you’ll be happy living your life after he’s gone. A blip in the radar. That’s all he is.”

Boone wasn’t a blip on the radar. That was the problem. He was the whole f*cking map.