Page 24 of The Rancher’s Bride

“You’re taking too long.”

“You’ve been sitting for three minutes.”

“Longest three minutes of my life.”

I laugh despite myself, but it fades as I secure the dressing around his arm. My hands are still trembling, and Damian notices. His teasing disappears, and he catches my wrist, bringing my palm to his mouth.

“I’m all right,” he says against my skin.

“You could’ve broken something. You could’ve been trampled.”

“But I wasn’t.”

“You didn’t even think before you did it. You could’ve gotten yourself killed.”

“I’d do it again.”

God, he actually means it.

I finish wrapping his arm and smooth the edge of the bandage into place. “There. Done.”

He kisses me on the lips this time. I brace one hand against his chest, intending to push him away, but the hard beat of his heart beneath my palm stops me.

His mouth softens. Our kiss deepens slowly, until every place we touch feels unbearably alive.

I pull away just far enough to breathe. “You need to rest.”

“I’ve rested enough.”

He stands, crowding me backward until my shoulders meet the wall. His mouth comes down on mine before I can argue. The kiss is stripped of patience, and he presses close, his muscular body pinning me to the wall.

When I hazily remind him about his shoulder, he tells me to stop fussing. When he shifts in a way that makes him flinch, I threaten to send him upstairs alone. His answer is to slide a hand beneath my shirt and close it around my breast.

My breath catches.

“You were saying?” he asks against my mouth.

“That you’re injured.”

His thumb drags over my nipple, making it tighten beneath his touch. “Doesn’t seem to be slowing me down.”

“You’re impossible.”

“And you’re still here.”

He kisses me again, swallowing my reply as his hand moves lower. His fingers slip beneath the waistband of my jeans, finding me already wet for him.

A low sound rumbles from his chest. “Christ, Sabrina.”

“Don’t sound so surprised.”

“I’m not surprised.” He slides a finger through my slickness. “I’m pleased.”

I bite his lower lip hard enough to make him curse.

His grin flashes against my mouth. “There she is.”

I reach between us and palm his cock through his jeans. He’s so hard that the contact makes his whole body tense.