Page 28 of Savage Rancher
"Jake," she breathes against my lips, and the sound of my name in her mouth makes something primal surge through me.
I pull back just enough to look at her—really look at her. Her lips are swollen from my kiss, her eyes dark with want, her chest rising and falling rapidly beneath my shirt.
"Are you sure?" I ask, my voice rough. I untangle one hand and undo two buttons so my shirt gapes open. I run a finger down inside, grazing it over first one hard nipple, then the other. "Do you know what you're getting into, Emma?"
29
EMMA
“Iknow exactly what, and I want it.” I brace my hands on the counter behind me. I arch my back, offering myself up to him, dying for him to touch me. "I want you."
30
JAKE
My cock pulses. I undo another couple of buttons so she’s bare to her navel. Looking down, I run my hands up her thighs, stopping at the bottom of my shirt. I grip her, moving them open for me.
"But first I need to apologize, Jake."
I go still, my gaze flying to hers. "For what?"
"For my father." Her voice cracks. She sits up and frames my face with her hands, her eyes suddenly bright with unshed tears. "For what he did. For running you off."
My chest tightens. "Emma?—"
"I didn't know," she says quickly, the honesty shining in her green eyes. "I swear I didn't know until years later, after I got married. He slipped up, and I made him tell me the whole story."
I catch the tear that slides down her cheek with my thumb. "And then it was too late," I say quietly. Emma would never betray her vows.
She nodded, resting her head against my chest. "Until then, I thought you just left me. I thought you didn't want me anymore. My dad said you were just using me, and I believed him.”
I feel a spark of the old rage and grief, and exhale it all out. It doesn’t matter anymore, not when I have Emma in my arms again.
She rubs her forehead against me. "If I'd known?—"
"You would've done what? Defied him? Left with me?” I ask gently, kissing her temple. "We were eighteen. We had nothing. He would have eventually convinced you to leave me."
Her head pops up, her eyes sparking. "I would not?—”
I kiss her, cutting off her denial. She loved her dad, and she underestimated the lengths he’d have gone through to save her from me. I’m just glad I don’t have to stop him from doing that now.
Lifting her chin, I hold her gaze. “You should've come to me about Turner. You should've asked for my help instead of dealing with it alone."
Her eyes widen. "Jake?—"
"You should've called me when he came out to your place and put his hands on you."
"You've only been back a week," she says, her voice defensive. "What was I supposed to do? Go up to you and say ‘Hey Jake! It’s been forever! Hope you’re good, but can you get involved in this mess I seem to be in?’"
I wrap her hair around my hand and tug, arching her back. "Yes, that’s exactly what you should have said."
Her eyes spit fire at me, and she digs her nails into my biceps with her sudden flare of anger. “Let me rephrase that. You were back for a whole fucking week, and you didn’t even come say hi to me. How was I supposed to know you were still interested?”
“Because I came back.” I get in her face. "Listen to me. You come to me next time. For everything. No more trying to handle it alone. No more keeping things from me because you're not sure I'll help. You're mine, Emma. That means your problems are my problems. Understood?"
She stares at me for a long moment. Whatever she sees appeases her, because she nods. "Understood."
"Say it."
