“Umm. I...” I rubbed a hand on my ass cheek where the offending bite was. Her gaze followed my hand and she raised an eyebrow.

“You got bitten on the backside?” she asked, trying to hide her amusement. “Turn around.”

“No.” I stepped back trying to hide the fact her staring at a bite on my ass would make me all kinds of uncomfortable.

“Destry, I need to check,” she coaxed.

“I’ve seen your rear. It’s a very nice one. Now, show me.” She tried to poke her head around to see.

“You think I have a nice ass?” I stopped running and cocked my head to the side.

“Yes. It’s extraordinarily cute. Now, please. Turn. Around,” she gritted out through her teeth.

I sighed and turned, putting my hands on the back of my truck and closed my eyes while she bent down and inspected my backside. The moonlight was bright enough that she would be able to see clearly, so when her fingertips touched the offending spot, I tensed up, knowing she was getting a good look. Her hand left my skin and silence surrounded us. When a few seconds passed and she still hadn’t said anything, I spun around concerned it was worse than I feared.

“The hell?” When I did lay eyes on her, she was bent at the waist her shoulders moving in silent laughter. “You’re laughing? What’s so funny?” I looked behind me, trying to see what about my butt was so funny. “Amelia?”

She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and burst out into loud giggles while pointing to me with one hand and still holding her stomach with the other.

“Really?” I raised my eyebrows, not understanding why a possibly fatal bite could be so hilarious.

“It’s…” she took a big breath and laughed some more, “it’s not even a…” More laughter. “Not a snake. Oh, good God. It wasn’t a snake. It was just a bug or something.” Halfway through another bout of laughter, she snorted loudly; looking embarrassed, she slapped a hand over her mouth. My bitten ass forgotten, I turned and took one look at her pink tinged blushing face then threw her over my shoulder and spun her around to rest on the back of my truck.

“Think it’s funny, huh?” I chuckled when she squealed in surprise. She let a giggle out when I laid her down on the blanket and crawled up over the top of her. Leaning my weight on one arm, I ran my free hand up her hip and along the side of her body, brushing my thumb over her nipple along the way until I was cupping her face.

“Umm?” Was the half-moan, half-question I received as I stared down at her. An overwhelming need to tell her how pretty she was rushed over me. “‘Melia, you’re so damn gorgeous I almost can’t stand it.” Her slight blush turned into a full flush and she turned her face away trying to hide. Her simple action bothered me. How did she not know how stunning she was? Had she not been told enough?

Either way I was planning on doing my best to fix it.

Hours later, after another round of mind-blowing sex and some heavy petting, we were wrapped around each other watching the light dusting of cloud roll over the twinkling stars. Something had shifted between us; Destry had gone from fighting with himself to letting go and embracing whatever it was that was happening. I was still quietly conflicted. Not very long ago, I was resigned to marry a low life scumbag of a man, yet I found myself lying in the arms of a guy who wasn’t only the very definition of sex, but he knew how to treat a lady without trying to turn her into a Stepford Wife. Destry’s hands ran lightly over my hip in slow lazy circles, his face lax in its contentment. No doubt mine showed the same thing, considering I’d never felt more comfortable as I did right then.

In the short time I had been on the ranch, I’d learnt a few things about myself. I was most comfortable just being me. Not worrying about a hair out of place or a designer cushion not perfectly centered. It was freeing and I’d come to quickly realize the life I had been living wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted wide-open space and fresh air. I wanted a cowboy who’d wrap me up in his arms and lay in peaceful silence. I wanted this kind of life. I looked across at the man beside me. I wanted this kind of life with Destry. I didn’t know a million things about him, but I wanted to find them all out in the best ways possible. I wanted to watch him screw his nose up at food he didn’t like. I wanted to watch him struggle to do something just because he thought I wanted to do it. I wanted to learn about him. But first I needed to learn about me. I’d lived a lie for the entirety of my life. Not only had my relationship with Warren been a load of crap, apparently, any chance of a close relationship with my sister had been too. I shuddered at the thought of having to face the disaster I’d driven away from, but if I wanted to move on, I needed to go back and deal with it all. Or at least, collect a few things and clear out my trust fund.

“Sorry?” I asked when I realized Destry had asked me a question and I’d missed it while wrapped up in my own thoughts.

“I said, where’d you go?” He brushed my hair back and tucked it behind my ear while staring down at me. “You got this look on your face while you were off in dreamland.”

“Oh, just thinking. I need to sort a few things out. Go back home and wrap some things up before I can start over here.” I stopped for a second when it registered how my words would sound out loud. “I mean, before I come back and find a job, get a house, all of the financials settled, that kind of thing.”

“Mhmm.” His lips ghosted across my bare collarbone; the vibration from his lips as he spoke sent goose bumps across my arms. “How long will you be gone for?”