Page 14 of Savage Rancher
“Out front. In his truck.”
"And she saw you neutralize Turner," Mason says. It's not a question.
"She saw enough." I stand at attention in front of the doorframe, keeping my voice level. I’m worried about Emma and shock setting in, not because of what she might do but because of how it might affect how she feels about me.
She still cares. She asked me to stay.
I don’t want that to change.
"So what'd you do?" Luke asks, interrupting my thoughts. "Please tell me you?—"
"I didn't do shit." My voice comes out sharper than I intend. "She's not a threat."
"She's a fucking witness," Luke points out. "That makes her a threat by definition."
I rub a hand over my neck. "She's not going to talk."
Luke shakes his head. "Is that what your crystal ball tells you?"
"No, she told me." I hold his gaze. "She told me she was relieved Turner was eliminated."
Luke's eyes narrow. "She said that?"
"Word for word."
Mason and Luke exchange a look—the kind of silent communication that comes from years of operating together.
"You believe her?" Mason asks.
"Yeah. I do."
"Because you trust her?" Luke flashes a knowing grin. "Or because you want to fuck her?"
"Both," I say honestly, and damn if my cock doesn’t harden again just thinking about it. I didn’t let myself go there while I was cleaning the scene and making sure Emma was secured, but now that it’s done—now that I’ve held her against my body—I can’t help thinking about stripping her down and relearning every inch of her.
Will she still get wet the second I slide my hand between her thighs?
I want to hear her scream my name while I'm buried inside her.
I want to make her come so many times she forgets her own name.
And yeah, I trust her. Because she looked me in the eye tonight with Turner's blood on the ground between us and still told me she has my back. I rub a hand over my neck, frustrated and horny and uncharacteristically impatient.
“Jesus.” Luke stares at me for a long moment. "I knew you were obsessed with her, but you’re really fucking obsessed."
"I'm not?—"
"You are." Mason sets his rifle down on his lap. "Of course you are. You've been thinking about her for all these years.”
Luke holds up his hand. “We get it, and we’ve got your back, like we always have. Like you have ours. Hell, we bought this fucking ranch and came here with you. But that’s not the point."
Mason nods, his hands resting loose on his weapon. “The point is you're not thinking clearly. You're thinking with your dick and your heart, and that's dangerous."
"I'm in control." If there’s one thing I have in spades, it’s control, evidenced by the fact that I walked away from Emma tonight.
"Are you?" Luke steps closer. "Because from where I'm standing, you just made yourself vulnerable to a woman you haven't seen in almost two decades. A woman who could destroy you with one phone call."
"She won't." I remember what she said about needing to talk, how she’d wanted me to stay, and I’m more sure by the minute. “Positive, in fact.”
