Free Heartbreak Ranch by Anastasia Ryan Page B

muttered to herself as she grabbed a small flashlight from her bag, and crept out into the cool Wyoming night. Once outside, she briskly walked behind the cabin, and somehow in the dark, found the creek that Colt showed her yesterday. As she followed the water, she tried to calm herself by thinking of what she might say to him. What am I doing?
    Graysen noticed the lights on in Colt’s cabin and her heart galloped in her chest. She couldn’t determine if joy or fear were to blame. Excitement bubbled out of her, putting a sparkle in her eyes. Her heart had been racing since she had stepped out of bed, but now it hammered against her chest as though it were trying to break free from her mind’s prison.
      
    ***
      
    Colt was exhausted, but he couldn’t sleep. He was seething. Not a blessed thing had gone well for him since Graysen left him, heart in hand, in the barn last night. He woke up that morning in a terrible mood, and it lingered with him throughout the day. He spent the morning mucking out the stalls. The newer hands usually had that chore, but Colt needed hard work to clear his mind of her.Tonight he was still burning with a dangerous combination of anger, lust, and frustration when he went to the bar to get a drink. Some of the other hands were there, and as he knocked back the first swallow of single malt, he listened in on their conversation. Lance was bragging about getting an up-close look at one of the female guests’ assets. He listened as Lance described Graysen perfectly.
    He and another of the hands kept making lewd comments about her, and for some reason, it really pissed him off. Some primal place inside him claimed her as his. He reasoned that he was the first one to see her, catch a glimpse of her brilliant, soul-bearing smile and they had kissed. She was his. They had no right to lust after her. Lance got lucky that night, but not with Graysen. Heck pulled Colt off of Lance just as he was about to knock the stupid cowboy six ways into Sunday.
    What in the hell is wrong with me? Colt’s heart brewed, ready to explode. Last night in the stables, he sank into her scent and taste, wrapping her tighter and losing himself in the moment. When she ran her hands over his chest, they were like hot coals, stoking an already unquenchable fire. That kiss with Graysen last night knocked the common sense right out of him. He was in his late twenties, not his late teens. He’d had girlfriends before. He’d broken his share of hearts. He’d even been in love before. What was it about Graysen?
    Whatever it was, his gut told him that she would be worth the wait. He would be patient and bide his time. He would let her think she was getting away for now. He needed to cool off and plot his next move. He stripped his shirt off, removed his boots and his belt and headed for the calm of a shower.
      
    ***
      
    Just knock on the door already before you lose your nerve , she told herself harshly as she stood on his porch, her face just inches from the front door. Her hand knocked on the wooden door of his cabin, maybe a little too loudly; a result of the adrenaline coursing through her body. She cussed a bit at herself for being at his front door at such a late hour. For a split second, she thought about running, but it was much too late for that.
    As the door swung open, her eyes were greeted by Colt’s rock-hard, bare chest. A trace of chest hair made its way down the center of his chest, only to disappear into a pair of jeans that had the top button undone. Graysen’s thoughts flashed back to the first night she spotted him. He was atop the wild mustang, shirtless and covered in sweat. What she had seen that night now stood in front of her in far more detail than she could have hoped for. His bare-chested self was now branded into her mind forever. Graysen’s eyes traveled upward and met his stare. He didn’t say anything, but he stepped aside, giving her room to walk into the cabin.
    Graysen hesitated. She