Page 23 of Wandering in Love
Her eyes meet mine, those grass-green orbs sucking me in. “I’m not. I haven’t been in a long time.”
“It doesn’t matter where you go. You’ll always be mine.”
She shakes her head, but holds back whatever she was going to say.
“Why did you use my last name?”
She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. “I told you. I didn’t trust him with my real name.”
“I think it’s because you knew you were mine. You were meant to be mine. You want to be mine.”
A tear falls down her cheek, and I brush it away with my thumb.
“Please don’t.” Her watery eyes meet mine. “You don’t know what you’re asking me.”
My palms cup her cheeks, my forehead leaning against hers.
“I do know. Having you here and not being mine is killing me. There’s no one else for me. There never was.”
“You don’t understand,” she weeps, tears now falling faster than I can wipe them away. “I can’t be what you need.”
A sob claims her, shaking her entire body. Wrapping my arms around her, I pull her into my chest. This woman is crazy if she thinks there is anything that will stop me from needing her.
Like the storm that brought her home, she rushes from my apartment.
Why is she always running from me? What is it about me that makes it so damn easy for her to leave?
I don’t chase her. Not this time. Whatever is going on in her head, she isn’t ready to share it yet. She needs to work it out herself before she’ll tell me.
Needing a distraction, I get dressed without taking a shower first. Her scent still on my skin calms me just enough to keep me from pummeling my brother’s face.
Hopping in my truck, I head out to the ranch. There’s always something to do out there. I cruise the streets without needing to think about which way to go. I’ve driven this path so many times, my muscles know the way by heart. As I pass a few places, people wave, and I lift a hand back.
I love this town. I always have. It’s in my blood. It’s where I want to raise my own family.
But what if that’s not what she wants?
If she wants to leave, will I go with her?
I park my truck next to the barn and set out. The wind is whipping through the fields today. Looking up at the sky, the clouds are heavy and there’s a bite in the air. We probably won’t get snow today, but it’s coming soon. Maybe tomorrow.
My boots crunch on the dirt and straw as I head inside the barn. Eva is stepping back from Will with a smile on her face, but a wet spot on his shirt, telling me she was crying not long ago. My jaw clenches, gritting my teeth. She ran from me straight to him. Again.
When she turns around, she stops when she sees me. My gaze takes her in, the hastily put on clothes, rumpled hair from my hands, the hickey and bite marks on her neck.
Mine.
I smirk at the marks on her skin, clear signs that she belongs to me. Anyone who messes with her now will have to deal with me.
Without a word, Eva turns away from me and walks to Bandit’s stall. She grabs his bridle and slips it over his head before tying him to a high hook in the aisle. I duck inside the tack room to grab her a saddle and set it on his back.
“Thanks,” she mumbles, tightening the straps.
“You’re welcome, Wildflower.” I drop a kiss on her neck, and she gasps at the sudden touch.
She shakes her head at me, but doesn’t say anything.
Will hasn’t moved from his spot in the middle of the aisle, his arms crossed over his chest as he smirks at me. I’m sure he knows she was with me not long ago. Hell, she still smells like me.