Page 47 of Cowboy Elite 2: Mike

Liv's breath hitched, but she didn't move away.

They rocked slow, the chains creaking soft overhead. The world narrowed, just the two of them, the stars waking up, the wind carrying the smell of hay and horses.

"You were brave today," Mike said quietly.

"I was terrified."

"Brave and terrified aren't mutually exclusive." He turned toward her, and his knee pressed more firmly against hers. "You hit those targets like a pro."

“Now that’s a bit of exaggeration.” She stared down at her mug. "I keep waiting for you to change your mind. To decide I'm too much trouble."

"Not gonna happen."

"You don't know that."

His hand came up, slow and careful, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. His fingers lingered, just a second too long, against her jaw.

She looked up.

His eyes were dark. Serious. But warm in a way that made her stomach flip.

"I know," he said, "that the second I saw you step off that bus, covered in dust and looking like you'd fight me over a biscuit recipe, I knew you were trouble." His thumb traced the edge of her jaw. "The good kind."

Her pulse kicked.

"Mike—"

"And I know," he continued, voice dropping lower, rougher, "that when you laugh in my kitchen at five in the morning, the whole damn world makes sense."

Her breath caught.

He leaned in. Slow. Giving her time to pull away.

* * *

His forehead rested against hers. Noses almost touching. Breath mingling. "Tell me to stop," he whispered.

"Don't you dare."

He took the mug from her hands and set it on the side table. And then he kissed her.

The kiss started soft. A question.

Then Liv's hand came up, fisted in his shirt, and pulled him closer.

Mike made a sound low in his throat—surprise, relief, need—and his hand slid into her hair, tilting her head, deepening the kiss.

His other arm came around her waist, pulling her across his lap. She went willingly, pressing close like she was trying to memorize the shape of him, the warmth, the very essence of his soul—battered as it was.

When they finally broke apart, both breathing hard, Mike rested his forehead against hers again.

"I'm falling for you," he said. Voice rough. Honest. "And I don't know how to stop."

Liv's eyes filled. "I can’t make you any promises, Mike."

“I’m not asking for them. Yet.”

He kissed her again. Softer this time. Making her wish there was a fairy-tale ending in her future. When he pulled back she smiled, even though she could feel tears burning in the back of her throat.