Page 38 of Her Boss, Her Rancher: Sunrise On The Ranch

Her heart skipped another beat.

“Funny,” he said softly, “that two people with such screwed-up ideas about love should end up here.”

“Could be.” The words carried on a breath.

“If we’re being honest?”

She nodded carefully, her eyes never leaving his.

He hesitated.

Her heart almost stopped.

“I believe I’ve fallen for you, Ms. Graystone, and it scares the ever-loving hell out of me. It goes against everything I was raised to believe, punches every panic button I have and should make me want to hop on my horse and head for the hills.” His gaze dropped to their hands. That thumb, roughened by hard labor, stroked hers. “I don’t want to run.”

Forcing herself to sit up, she retrieved her hand so she could take his face and turn that beautiful gaze her way. “Ironic, isn’t it, that I was raised to believe business was more important than people? Then I met you. Everything I thought I knew was flipped on its ear. My business is on the verge of collapse.” He inhaled sharply, making his cheeks move beneath her hands. She tightened her grip, wouldn’t let him look away. “And I’ve never been happier.” His eyes widened as she moved in, her lips brushing his. “It seems inevitable, Mr. Covington, that I’ve fallen for you, too.”

He closed his eyes, their lips still touching. “Say it. Truly say it.”

“I love you, Cade Covington.”

He brushed a whisper-soft kiss over her lips. “Then I suppose I can get on with the day’s chores.”

“Not before your reciprocate.”

“You have my heart, Ms. Graystone, and have branded my soul. If that’s not love, I have no idea what is.” Brushing her hair aside, he kissed her forehead.

Emma was almost afraid to ask, but the way her organized mind worked, she had to know. “Where do we go from here?”

“Wherever we want, I suppose.” He opened his eyes and stared at her from only a few inches away. “Whereveryouwant.”

She started, pulling away and breaking contact. “You’d never be happy in New York.”

“I’m not sure you’d be happy here.” Calm and stoic, that was Cade.

“True.”

“‘Wherever we want’ doesn’t require an immediate answer, baby.” He pressed her shoulders to the bed, following her down and caging her in his arms. “We’ll decide together. Right now? I have to get my butt to work or I’m going to do something I’ve never done before.”

“And that is?”

“Spend a lazy morning in bed with a woman,mywoman, and work up a sweat.”

“Doesn’t sound terribly lazy,” she said, her eyes fluttering closed.

“I’d take a while to make you sweat.”

Heat bloomed between her legs and she grinned. “I doubt it.”

A quick kiss and he stood. “Then I’d best get going. There’s a ton to accomplish today, but you can afford a couple more hours of sleep before you have to get up. Rest. I’ll come get you before ten.”

She watched him go, his masculine swagger tempered by a lighter step than any she’d ever seen him exhibit. “I love you,” she said so softly he shouldn’t have heard her.

Still, he paused at the door and glanced over his shoulder. “Damn right you do.”

Then he was gone, leaving her laughing in his wake as she snuggled under the covers. The last thing she’d expected to find in New Mexico had been the first thing she’d encountered.

Love.