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I nod, and he retrieves his fingers.
“Are you negotiating with me, cowboy?” I say with a grin.
“It appears so.”
“Give me a clue.”
There’s something about that wild glint in his eye that tells me he’s up to something. It’s making me giddy.
“Nope,” he says as he climbs off the bed, his erection still rock hard. “You’ve got thirty minutes. No more laying around and sleeping.”
I open my mouth in pure shock that he’s coming at me like this. I shoot back, “I’ll kidnap you, lock you in a cage, have a gun to your head. See how you like it.”
I probably shouldn’t be licking my wounds; maybe I should be up and out ready to take on the world. I don’t want to. I have no desire to. Taking a break doesn’t make me weak. If anything, I’ll come back stronger.
Life isn’t only about power or territory; it’s about love. It’s about doing things that put you out of your comfort zone. Taking vacations. Having good sex. Scrap that—not just good, epic.
It’s about growing old beside someone who you’d die for.
“I was joking, G,” Colt says, shaking me from my thoughts.
That pained expression on his face makes me laugh.
“I’m joking, cowboy. I’ve been a lazy bitch, and I need to get out.”
He rummages through my drawers, tossing a cami and a pair of shorts at me. “Gianna, I’m really fucking excited to show you this. Please get dressed for me.”
“I like it when you say please, big man.”
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWO
Colten
I’m like an excited kid at Christmas, and I’m not the one opening the gifts. I get to watch Gianna’s reaction to her first surprise today.
With her hand in mine, I lead her through the back of the house, through the yard, and into my stables.
I’ve let out the other horses into the field, except one.
“Oh my god!” Gianna squeals. “Is this my baby girl?”
She’s running to the stall, yanking open the door, and then she’s diving on the hay.
“Preziosa,” she whispers, holding out the back of her hand.
The sheep rests its dark nose on her hand, and Gianna’s smile is something I want framed on the wall.
Leaning against the stable door, I cross my arms and watch the two of them bond.
“I’m so happy you’re home, baby girl,” Gianna tells her.
She lets out a baa in response. Gianna once asked me if I thought she was evil; animals don’t bond with the bad. They only naturally go to the good, just like my girl. Her heart is gold, and it’s mine.
“Is she staying for good? The vet is happy she’s okay now?” Gianna asks, turning to me.
“She is, sweetheart. She’s fit and healthy.”
Not every animal that passes through my sanctuary gets this kind of ending, and Preziosa nearly didn’t make it. Gianna made me fight for her. Gianna showed me, in more ways than one, how to fight for the things I love.
