Bucked by Cat Johnson

to get his hands and mouth on Sage as soon as possible.
    Sage was sweet and innocent and tempting as hell, and she didn’t fit into his plans. One night with Sage might make him want to stick around. He didn’t want to want that. He wanted to go join up with Slade. The only reason stopping him from rejoicing at the thought of doing exactly that was seated in front of him looking entirely too tempting.
    She was watching him with those eyes of hers that a man could get lost in and something suddenly struck him.
    “Where did your glasses go?”
    Sage smiled. “I got contacts my freshman year in high school.”
    He’d already left town by then. Whenever it had happened, he was glad it had. “I’d always thought it was a shame to hide such pretty eyes behind glasses.”
    “You did not.” She scowled. “You never looked close enough to see my eyes back then.”
    Mustang frowned. “That’s not true. I swear. I always thought you were a pretty girl, even when you had on those ugly braces with the pink and green rubber bands.”
    She laughed. “Thanks, I guess. And those were the hottest fashion colors in braces back then, I’ll have you know.”
    He considered carefully how he’d remembered those details from almost a decade ago. If his life depended on it, he couldn’t tell you the eye color of the last woman he’d been with, even though he’d spent a good portion of that night having sex with her. He’d even faced her during some of it. Yet he remembered so many details about Sage and he probably would even after he left Magnolia again.
    He pressed one hand to the sinking feeling in his belly at the thought of leaving. He noticed her watching him and scrambled for something to say. “Maybe we can eat now.”
    “Sure, we can do that. Are you feeling all right? Are you still on pills from the operation? I know they can mess with your stomach.”
    “I’m finally done with the antibiotics and I’m basically off the painkillers too. I took one last night when I got achy and couldn’t sleep but today I didn’t take any.”
    Luckily the discussion about medicine gave him something to think about besides wanting her and knowing he shouldn’t have her, but even that didn’t prevent him from focusing one hundred percent on the shape of her ass as she turned away from him and bent to open the basket of food.
    He pictured nestling up closely behind her. Sliding his hands onto each of her hips. Holding her close. She turned and he realized she was watching him and waiting expectantly.
    “Um, sorry. What did you say?”
    She smiled. “You really must have had a tough day at work. You seem a million miles away. I asked if you wanted something to drink.”
    God, yes. Bourbon, straight up . “What have you got?”
    “Water or sweet tea.”
    He laughed. What else would a sweet innocent girl have to offer by way of drinks? “Sweet tea is good. Thanks.”
    She handed it to him. He had to sit up to be able to grab it.
    “My grandmother made your favorite.”
    “Empanadas?”
    Sage nodded. “Yup. I’ll have you know I have to beg her to make them for me. Now that she’s just cooking for the two of us, I usually only get them on my birthday and a few other times during the year. But you come home and she’s made them twice already.”
    He shrugged, smiling. “What can I say? I have a way with the ladies. I’m just a charmer, I guess.”
    “Yes, you are.” The expression on her face became serious. She leaned in closer, taking his sweet tea out of his hand and putting it down on the ground. Then her mouth was too close to resist, so he didn’t.
    Whether she or he closed the final distance he didn’t know or care, but it seemed they were drawn together like two magnets.
    As soon as their lips touched he sank into absolute bliss. Somehow he ended up on his back with her on top of him. Her leg lodged between his so her hip pressed against the zipper in his jeans. He didn’t dare move or risk losing the contact