Cowboy Take Me Away by Soraya Lane

said, ripping his bag open at the same time as he made himself comfortable on a barstool. “Half the time we were eating breakfast before we’d even been to bed after a big night.”
    She chuckled, the feeling of nostalgia passing as she remembered their early years at college. “You’re referring to the nights when you hadn’t taken some gorgeous leggy blonde back to your dorm, right?”
    He frowned, eyebrows drawing together. “Hey, I didn’t discriminate. There’s nothing wrong with a beautiful brunette.”
    â€œSeriously though, you definitely had a thing for blondes.”
    His frown faded, his expression more serious. “Maybe I was trying to compensate for not being able to have the blonde I really wanted.”
    If she’d been trying to swallow stones before, now she was trying to swallow rocks. “Coffee,” she muttered, realizing her machine was still on. Just her luck she’d have burned the motor out leaving it on so long with not enough water in it, and these days it wasn’t like she could just go out and buy another one. “You still take it black with sugar?”
    She heard him move behind her, his boots scuffing against her wooden floor.
    â€œI’ll always feel like a shit for ruining our friendship that night, Hope, but it wasn’t like I hadn’t wanted it for a long time.”
    She tried to ignore him, focused on the coffee machine, on filling it up with water and setting both cups on the tray. They’d gone over this last night, talked around what had happened, and it wasn’t something she wanted to discuss when she was sober. She’d done her best to block out that night, to push away her guilt, but with Chase standing behind her, his feelings on the matter more than clear, it wasn’t exactly easy.
    Hope froze. Chase’s hands touched her shoulders, his palms firm as his thumbs locked at the top of her back. His touch was light yet firm, making her want to lean into him and relax at the same time as wanting to escape his hold and run.
    â€œSeeing you again, it’s brought everything back,” Chase said, his voice gruff as he leaned in. His breath was hot against her neck, his hand moving to gently scoop up her hair and brush it to one side so her bare skin was exposed. Goose pimples rippled across her entire body, her fingers barely functioning as she tried to continue making the coffee.
    â€œThings have changed,” Hope murmured, trying to stay focused, to not be swayed by Chase’s touch. If he knew the truth he wouldn’t be saying any of this to her. “I’ve changed.”
    â€œYeah, but this hasn’t,” he insisted, his mouth closing over her neck, lips so smooth, so delicate against her that her knees were in danger of buckling. “Nothing about how much I want you has changed. Just now we don’t have to worry about screwing up our friendship. We already did that.”
    Hope reached to flick the switch on the machine. Her brain was telling her to be sensible, but she couldn’t. Instead she wavered, let her body take over, resting back ever so slightly against Chase, his chest firm against her back, his frame big and comforting as he slid his hands slowly over her shoulders and down her arms, drawing her back.
    â€œMom?”
    Hope leaped forward, smashing her hip into the counter she moved so fast. “Harrison!” She as good as shoved Chase on her way past to get to her boy, her heart swelling as she saw him standing there in the middle of the kitchen, hair sticking up in every which direction, his teddy clutched tight against his chest as he stared at the strange man in the house.
    Hope bent and placed a smacking kiss on his forehead before scooping him up into her arms. Her blood still felt like it was on fire and pumping around her body at a rapid pace, her body screaming out to her that the man she wanted was still so close, but she stayed