Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 21850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 109(@200wpm)___ 87(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 109(@200wpm)___ 87(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
“Do you still live on the family ranch?” he asks, and I realize we have so much to learn about each other.
“No.” I shake my head. “I bought a cute little house on the outskirts of town. “I’ll text you the address.” While all my brothers built houses on the family ranch, I wanted to prove I could be independent.
"Great," he says with a warm smile that lights up his eyes as he looks down at me. "Pepperoni or sausage?" he inquires, his voice playful.
"Why choose?" I retort with a grin, the banter flowing between us as effortlessly as if it were a natural part of breathing, just like it had been a decade ago.
A little while later, I maneuver my car into the driveway, my heart pounding so fiercely it feels like it might leap from my chest. Todd shows up a little while later and parks in front of my house. As he hops out, I take a deep breath, trying to calm the flutter of nerves that have taken residence in my stomach.
Before he can knock, I open the door with a smile spreading across my face and watch him step inside. He sets the pizza on the hall table and turns back to me. His arms wrap around me in a familiar embrace, pulling me close.
A sense of familiarity mixes with the powerful desire rushing through me as everything falls into place, and I know with absolute clarity that this is precisely where I belong.
She stands in her hallway wearing tight yoga pants and a t-shirt, every curve perfectly emphasized in a way that wakes up my cock. I should have prepped for this, taken a cold shower or doused myself with ice water. Something. Her brown hair is pulled back, a few strands falling loose around her face, making her look casual, comfortable, and mind-blowingly sexy.
My gaze snags on everything and anything that screams Maggie. Photos line the walls, family shots with her brothers grinning like idiots while she smiles brighter than anyone else. The living room is full of plush furniture and bright colors, more lived-in and welcoming than my cold bachelor pad in San Francisco. It's like stepping into the past and the future all at once, and my brain can barely handle the sensory overload.
"You’re nervous?" she asks, her delicate, Texan drawl wrapping around the words.
"Am not," I protest, sounding just like my five-year-old niece.
Maggie laughs, a sound that yanks me straight back to the summer I first realized I was hopelessly, madly, stupidly in love with her. The memories of watching her ride horses and argue with her brothers flood my mind, unbidden and powerful. I’d been so sure of myself; I thought I'd made the right call by letting her go. What a fucking joke. I'm the same wreck now that I was then.
"So, what movie did you—"
"I'd rather skip the pizza and movie tonight," she interjects, locking her gaze on me with an intensity that pierces through me.
"What do you want?" I ask, feeling as if I’ve been hit right between the eyes with a two-by-four.
Her eyes deepen with unmistakable desire. "I want you."
Everything stops. Air. Time. Brain function. Did she really just—?
"Maggie," I croak out, every plan I had for the evening disintegrating. God, I hope she's not messing around. I swallow, my throat suddenly drier than the Arizona desert. I want this more than my next breath, more than any win, more than anything, ever. I try to find words, but my vocal cords have gone on a permanent vacation.
“Don’t hurt me again.” She doesn’t have to worry about that. I barely survived the last ten years without her.
“I won’t,” I vow. I stand there, silent, a lifetime of wanting her screaming through me.
She meets me halfway. Her curvy body slams into mine and my control snaps. My mouth crashes against hers with ten years’ worth of hunger and longing. We bang into the hall table, but I don't give a shit about anything except her.
Her laugh is wild and breathless against my lips. It’s the best fucking sound in the world. We trip over the rug, and I hoist her up, her legs wrapping around my waist, my hands finding bare skin under her shirt.
"Bedroom," she gasps, pointing over her shoulder, and I’m helpless to resist.
Maggie's fingers tangle in my hair, pulling me closer as I navigate blindly, my heart racing like it does in the final seconds of a game.
Every part of me is on fire as we make it to the bedroom door, and I stop, breaths ragged, almost scared to ask again. "Maggie," I manage, fighting through the haze of desire. "Are you sure about this? Are you ready for this?"
Her answer is a wicked smile and a roll of her hips that sends any remaining restraint I have straight to hell. "So damn sure," she breathes, and it's all I need to hear. “I’ve been ready for this since the day we met.”