Cowboy Redeemed Page 14
“I do care about you.”
Ainsley wrapped her arms around her middle. “Stop. Just stop. No more pretending. Did you know who I was that night at Slick’s?”
He shot to his feet. “Not until you told me. And there’s nothing make-believe about how I feel.”
His boots hit the dirt. Ainsley took a step back when he reached for her. His arms dangled for a second before he dropped them with a huff.
“So that’s it? After the time we’ve spent together, you’re not interested in what I have to say?”
She retreated another step at the furious look on his face. “You want to talk? Okay. Go ahead.” Her own anger was building steam. “Tell me you didn’t keep a proposal to buy my home a secret. Tell me each time we went riding together, you weren’t checking the place out for your own advantage. Tell me every fucking question you asked me was strictly out of curiosity and not some ulterior motive.” Her vision blurred. She silently cursed the tears she couldn’t seem to stop. “And please, tell me you weren’t fixing things around here in preparation of living here yourself someday.”
“Living here … what the hell are you talking about?”
“Oh, come on. You said yourself you wanted … what did you call it? A raise-a-family-in kind of place? Congratulations, Clayton.” She waved her arm in a wide arc. “As of a few hours ago, it’s all yours.”
The roped muscles in his neck bulged as a flush bloomed across his cheeks. “When I said I wanted a bigger place, I didn’t mean yours. I own the property my trailer sits on, Ainsley. It might be surrounded by Shadow Maverick land, but from the edge of the lake to a hundred acres due south is all mine. I’d planned to build a house there, not far from where the mobile home sits now. You said yourself how beautiful it was. It’s the perfect place to start a family.”
Thinking about Clay starting a family with someone else broke something inside her. Something vital. “I can’t … I can’t do this right now.” She brushed past him and took the steps to the porch.
“Goddamn it, Ainsley. Listen to me.” His hand on her arm stopped her before she could escape into the house. “The only way I’d consider living here is if you were with me.”
His warmth penetrated her back as his arms slid around her. “I’m not going to deny you’ve got a right to be mad. I’m asking you to reserve judgment until you have all the facts. Can you do that?”
She ducked out of his hold, needing some space to breathe. Otherwise, she’d melt against him, beg him to take her upstairs and make her forget the last few hours.
“Five minutes, Ainsley. Please. Hear me out.”
She glanced to the papers still clutched in his hand, praying whatever he had to say wouldn’t shred her frayed emotions further.
A frustrated noise burst from his throat. “This doesn’t fucking matter!” He tore the contract in half. Tore it again. And again. He tossed the shredded pieces into the air. “The only thing that matters is you. I don’t care about this place, Ainsley. I care about you. I love you. More than I ever thought I could love another person.”
He sighed and dragged a hand through his hair. “I didn’t tell you about Gavin’s offer because I never planned to give it to you. I wanted to find another way.”
Had she heard him correctly? “You love me?”
No hesitation. “I do.”
And then his mouth was on hers.
The strength left her legs, but Clay was there to hold her up. She clutched at the front of his shirt, desperate to hang onto the hope blazing in her chest when she knew her problems were far from over.
Ainsley pulled from the kiss. Breathless, she rested her forehead against his chest. “The bank denied my loan. If I don’t sell, I’ll lose the ranch anyway. You just tore up my way out.”
He caressed her arms with slow, tantalizing strokes. “No, baby, I didn’t. That’s what I wanted to tell you. I found the other way I mentioned. We don’t want to buy your land. We want to lease it.”
She jerked back. “You want to what?”
“Lease it. Three sections of it anyway. Shadow Maverick will pay you for allowing us to use the land to expand our herd. I’ve got a proposal for you to look at. If you agree with the numbers, we’ll have the papers drawn up and the first payment to you by the end of the month.”
“That fast?”
“I know what I want.”
His boyish grin was irresistible. “Clay.”
He pressed a finger to her lips. “Wait, before you say anything. I’m sorry. I should’ve talked to you about what I was working on. I didn’t want to get your hopes up in case things didn’t work out. Not an excuse, just a fact. The deal is yours regardless, but I need to know how you feel about me, Ainsley. I need to know I haven’t lost you.”
Ainsley kissed the tip of his finger. “I’ve never said the words before. Not to anyone. Until you, I never knew what it felt like.”
His hopeful expression melted away any lingering doubt. “Felt like to what, baby?”
“To love. To love you.”
He took her mouth again. This time, Ainsley held nothing back. She poured every bit of emotion—the pain, the promise—into every thrust of her tongue.
“Let’s go inside.” Clay cupped her ass and lifted her feet off the porch.
Ainsley tugged at the ends of his hair. Inside was too far away. “No. Here.”
He growled, put her back on her feet and spun her away from him.
She grasped the porch rail, the weathered wood rough under her palms. Her breath came in harsh gasps as he reached around and unfastened her jeans. He jerked them down along with her panties.
She ached, her pussy wet and ready for him. He fumbled behind her. The whisper of a zipper. The tearing of a foil pack. And then the scorching head of his cock pressed into her.
“Don’t go slow,” she begged. “Show me I belong to you.”
Finally.
“Damn right you do.”
Ainsley grunted as he pulled back then powered into her again. And again.
Driven by need, by love, and by the promise of their future together, Ainsley gave herself over to his strength. Quickly, a familiar tension welled in her belly. Her body tingled in anticipation as he drove her over the edge.
“I love you,” she whispered and let go. Her cries of pleasure drifted through the air.
Clay pumped into her a final time and held. “I’ll never get enough of you,” he panted. “Not in a million years.”
Ainsley’s legs felt like limp noodles as he finally pulled from her. He ditched the condom and helped her get her pants back in place before dealing with his own.
He pulled her close. “Say you forgive me, Ainsley. I need to hear you say it.”
“After that … I’d say you definitely redeemed yourself.” She poked him in the chest. “But if you ever think to go behind my back again, your skills between my legs won’t be enough to save your ass. Got it?”
“Works both ways, sweetheart. From now on, it’s you and me against the world. No more hiding, no more secrets. I don’t just want your heart.” He tapped a finger to her temple. “I want what’s up here too. I want to know what you’re thinking, what your plans are. I want to be a part of it. I want all of you, Ainsley.”
If she didn’t already love him, she’d be head-over-heels now. “You’ve got me.”
“So, you’ll consider our proposal?”
“No.”
His gaze sharpened. “What? Why the hell not?”
Full disclosure. Both ways.
“I don’t want to be a cattle rancher, Clay. I want to expand my garden, sell to the locals. I’ve talked to Reese. There’s a good chance we’ll work out a deal with the caterers and restaurants she works with in Houston for them to buy their fresh produce from me. It’s what I want to do. So, I’ll sell you the sections you’re interested in, if you think that’s a better way to go. I figured it wouldn’t be worth as much if I broke it up, so I never considered the option.”
; “We could go to the house and talk to Gavin about it.”
Ainsley cringed. “I don’t have the greatest track record with your brother.”
“I love you.” Clay grinned and pressed a hard kiss to her lips. “And you better get used to dealing with my brother, baby. He’s your family now, too.”
Family.
Yeah. Ainsley liked the sound of that.
Want more of the Mathis Family?
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Books by Parker Kincade
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One Night Stand
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Cowboy Redeemed
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About the Author
National Bestselling Author, Parker Kincade, writes edge-of-your-seat-sexy romantic suspense, hot and steamy sports romance, and erotic western romance. Her first novel, One Night Stand, won the 2013 Reader’s Crown Award for Best First Book, the category of Best Erotic Romance in the Celtic Hearts Romance Writers Golden Claddagh contest, and was named finalist in the Romance Writers of America/Passionate Ink Stroke of Midnight contest.
Parker lives in the southern United States. She loves to read, play golf, spend time with her family and friends, snuggle with her beloved boxer, ice cream from the ice cream truck, and watching old musicals.
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