Borrowed Cowboy (Shadow Maverick Ranch) Read Free Page B

“It’s good to see you again, Reesey.”

Chapter Three
    Paxton shut the bedroom door and leaned his forehead against it. He looked down at the wood he was sporting. Wasn’t that just perfect?
    Reese fucking Jameson.
    He couldn’t believe it. Just the thought of her earlier had made him hard, which, in itself, surprised him on all kinds of fucked-up levels. But actually seeing her again … holy shit. He hadn’t been prepared for that .
    She’d come back into his life exactly as she’d left it.
    Without warning.
    Not that he blamed her for leaving. He might’ve at first, but once his grief had lifted, he realized what a total jackass he’d been. Too little, too late. Hell, people did stupid shit when they were young, and he’d been no exception. He’d been arrogant and self-absorbed. Ten feet tall and fucking bulletproof. Consequences were for the poor bastards who didn’t know better. And, of course, he’d known everything.
    How he’d love to go back and kick his younger self’s ass nine ways to Sunday. Might’ve saved him a lot of heartache on the flip side.
    He wasn’t that naive, carefree kid anymore. Life had kicked him in the balls one too many times for him to believe in happy endings.
    He wanted to know why she was here after all this time. They’d known each other since high school, for fuck’s sake. He remembered thinking maybe they’d end up like his parents or his older sister Erin—married to their high school sweethearts. He and Reese never officially dated, but he’d thought about it, so there must have been feelings there before that night.
    The night he’d taken her innocence and lost his best friend. The latter, he sorely regretted, the other … not so much.
    Time healed all wounds.
    How many times had he heard that in his life? Too fucking many.
    He tossed the wet towel to the floor and pulled on a pair of jeans, gritting his teeth as he zipped them over his swollen cock.
    He grabbed a T-shirt—its once black faded to the color of used charcoal, but it was comfortable and clean—and shoved his arms through the sleeves. He ducked, pulled the shirt over his head, and tugged it into place.
    Reese had grown into a striking woman. She had the kind of curves a man ached to touch. Her ass in those shorts about killed him. His vision blurred with the memory of how it’d felt to grip her hips and … yeah, he’d taken her virginity in every way possible that night, straining to keep up with her demands for more.
    Fuck.
    He’d rather not have zipper marks tattooed on his dick by the end of the night, so he’d better get his shit straight. Stop thinking about the past.
    But damn, she’d smelled good, like the wildflowers that grew around the ranch. The creamy tone of her skin flushed with the late summer heat and her lips … Jesus. Shiny and pink, her lips had tempted him to see if that gloss was flavored.
    Which wouldn’t be fair to her.
    Sure, they had history, most of which had been fairly good if he didn’t count the end. That’s how relationships worked, right? Everything was good … until it wasn’t. Only for him and Reese, it’d gone from the most amazing sex of his life, to over in a heartbeat. Or rather, in a phone call.
    They’d never had a chance to actually be a couple.
    Funny how he’d never felt cheated about that until this moment.
    Deciding to leave his feet bare, he pulled the door shut behind him, and with it, closed off his trip down memory lane. The time for him and Reese had passed. He wasn’t looking for another relationship. Not even with her.
    Time didn’t heal shit. It only left deep scars where naiveté and hope once lived.
    He jogged down the stairs and made his way to the kitchen. The hub of the house felt as familiar as an old pair of jeans, yet stood unusually quiet since his parents had left.
    A wall of brick housed two stainless steel ovens and arched over a gas cooktop that sported six burners and a grill. A matching refrigerator centered the