Steal Her Heart (Kaid Ranch Shifters #1)(21)

Kissed.

Her.

It was rough at first, his lips unforgiving against hers, his beard scraping her chin. But then he did something that shocked her even more. He softened his lips and pulled her in tighter, slid his hand to her neck. It felt so good, so right, after all they’d exposed of themselves that she leaned forward ever so slowly and pressed her lips to his, sucked gently on his bottom lip.

A soft, feral noise escaped his throat and revved her up. He was the sexiest man she’d ever encountered, and he was here, in her home, wrapping her up and getting her lost in the best way. There was no thinking as they figured out how to kiss each other. No other problems, or history, or damage existed. Just them and the motion of their lips around one another. The feel of his strong, calloused hand slipping up under her shirt to grip her waist. His warm skin under her palm as she ran it up his abs and to his chest. The sound of that sexy noise in his throat. The sound of the needy one in hers.

Never in her life had she been touched by a man like this. Like she was air and he was dying for breath. Never had she felt so coveted or taken care of. And at long last, after she’d memorized the taste of him, the feel of his lips, the tickle of his beard…long after she’d memorized the lines of his chest and the tone of that growl he let off, he eased back by inches and searched her eyes. And he let her see the truth in his face as he said, “You were enough, Maris. He wasn’t.”

Holy. Hell.

It wasn’t only her skin and mouth that felt touched now.

Her soul quaked from his words. It trembled with acceptance. With understanding. With hope.

Her face crumbled, and she pressed her face against his chest before he saw her cry. She didn’t want to ruin the moment with her weakness.

“It ain’t weak,” he whispered, as if he’d been right there in her head. “You’ve been strong this whole time, haven’t you? Running this place on your own instead of wallowing in heartbreak. You had the best reaction to him. Do you know that? Hey.” He cupped her cheeks and pushed her back gently. “Do you know that?”

All she could do was shake her head and spill tears down her cheeks.

He clenched his teeth for a moment, and his face looked feral when he ground out, “The best revenge on a person who hurts you is to be happy. It’s to survive and keep your head up and keep being a badass. He’ll always be pathetic. You were too good for him, and that man did you a favor with his betrayals. He’s weak.” Bryson shook his head and lowered his voice to a whisper. “Not you.”

She had to force air past her tightened vocal cords to tell him, “I wish I could explain what you just did for me.”

“You don’t have to explain. Now…” He straightened up and looked around. “We burnin’ this shit or what?”

Stunned, Maris stared at the boxed-up memories. She couldn’t think straight. His kiss still buzzed on her lips, and her head swirled around and around. “Well, I was thinking of just throwing it out, but burning it sounds fun.”

His eyes flashed strange again, but this time it wasn’t anger. Pride swam in his smile. “Good girl.”





Chapter Ten


Everything was on fire, and for once in her life, Maris was okay with that.

She stood next to the massive bonfire Bryson had built. The fuel? Her past with Dallas. Or perhaps the fuel was the old her, but this, right here, right now, felt like a rebirth. It was freeing to get rid of all the things she’d coveted from her past.

Bryson rode up on her old four-wheeler, dragging the mattress from her and Dallas’s old bed through the muddy yard. On top of it was the last three boxes from the now empty bedroom.

He cut the engine and said, “This is the last of it. You ready to say goodbye to all of it?”

She inhaled deeply and nodded. “You know, you’re running on almost no sleep, and you’re out here doing this with me.”

He didn’t look at her as he plucked a box from the mattress like it weighed no more than a mouse. “And I’ll be feeding the cows after we finish up here. I don’t need much sleep. Not until wintertime.”

“What do you mean? You sleep more during certain seasons?”

“I hibernate when it gets cold. Kind of.”

She frowned and laughed uncertainly. “You hibernate? Like a bear?”

He didn’t answer her, only dropped the box next to her. Smooth as butter, he pulled a big pocketknife from his jeans, flicked it open, and cut the tape. “Oh shit,” he murmured, standing straight up.

She followed his gaze to the box. Her wedding dress was folded into it. The sequined, strapless bodice was right there, glaring back at her.

Her cheeks went cold from the blood draining from her face. She’d forgotten all about the dress, and a dozen memories of that day pelted her in the face. She’d been so happy. But she’d also been so tricked.

Bryson pulled the dress out of the box and held it out to her. “I think you should put it on.”

“W-what?” she asked. “Why?”

“I’ll show you. Just trust me and put it on.”

It took her a full thirty seconds to recover her mind enough to murmur, “Okay.”

Her ankle was doing a little better today, thanks to all the ice packs, and the swelling was down by a lot, but she still had that deep limp as she hobbled to the box and lifted the dress out.