Storm and Rein

Chapter 39

I could have kissed him forever. I would have chased the highs that his moans laced through me until I was weak with exhaustion. I was not made up of thoughts when my mouth was on his, only sensations: hunger, need, excitement, heat. I was a simple being, racing after my desires and only being pleased when Rhett responded so wonderfully to me.

But he had different plans. With a breathless laugh, his large palms found my shoulders and guided me back. The grin on his mouth grew when he heard the little noise of complaint I made, but his pressure did not ease until I was sitting upright on his thighs.

"You have no idea how happy I am right now. I just can't believe we took this long," he murmured. Gentle fingers traced the shape of my lower lip before cupping my cheeks so sweetly.

"You knew where I was this whole time," I said.

"You wouldn't have even looked at me a couple months ago. When that cow jumped the fence and you found me, I thought you were going to pull out a shotgun on me like some old Western movie or something."

"We aren't American," I sighed. I knew that I wouldn't have admitted that anywhere, but my secrets felt safe here, nestled in the mountains. "And I wouldn't have done anything, anyway. I was so tongue-tied, so nervous, and you know how I am. When I get rattled like that, it always comes out as anger."

"Yeah." His smile softened at the edges. "I know you."

I felt like my heart was dripping and dripping, turning into nothing but a puddle of mush and softness, like it was made of sugar and Rhett's words were a misty rain. All those barriers that I trusted to keep me safe weren't so sturdy after all.

"Not to kill the mood, but we should probably talk about the elephant in the room," he said, his gaze darting over to the single bed that had given me so much anxiety when we arrived.

I shuffled off of him to give him space, glancing over my shoulder at the offensive object.

"What about it?" I asked, but the problem was clear. The loveseat was our only other option. I was not a small woman and he was certainly not a small man. Whoever was roped in to sleeping out here would be suffering the next couple of nights.

"It's getting late, we can't pretend like it's a non-issue if we want to get a reasonable amount of sleep in."

"We can just share the bed," I blurted before I could talk myself out of it. We were consenting adults. It was the only way we would get some decent hours of rest tonight.

"Sierra, we don't have to do that. This is so new to both of us. I wouldn't want..." He shook his head. "I want you to be as comfortable as possible. Just because we decided that we are going to give it a try doesn't mean we have to jump in with both feet right now."

"This isn't about jumping in; this is about both of us getting some sleep. So, I will be sleeping on that bed tonight and if you would like to sleep beside me, you are more than welcome, but if you want to sleep on this instead, you aren't going to hurt my feelings. Now, I'm going to get ready for bed."

Only once I was closed into the bathroom with my duffle bag, staring at my reflection in the mirror, did I allow myself to feel the giddiness. I was like a child, covering my mouth to hide the giggles as I gave a little gleeful hop. Rhett Wright was out there. And, as of right now, he was my boyfriend, or something close enough to it. We were trying for real. Not for the cameras, not for a show, not for his team. For us. For me.

I was still smiling like a fool while I brushed my teeth and hacked a brush through my hair. There was a brief deliberation of what to wear to bed, but the reality was that he had seen me cry so hard over my father that snot dripped out of my nose, been the one to take me to the hospital when my barrel horse decided he wanted to be a bronc. If he could endure that and still want me, he could see me in an old rodeo shirt that was three sizes too big and my shorts with beach balls on them.