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Chapters (56)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise for the novels of Mia Sheridan
  3. About the Author
  4. NOTE TO READERS
  5. Dedication
  6. prologue
  7. chapter one
  8. chapter two
  9. chapter three
  10. chapter four
  11. chapter five
  12. chapter six
  13. chapter seven
  14. chapter eight
  15. chapter nine
  16. chapter ten
  17. chapter eleven
  18. chapter twelve
  19. chapter thirteen
  20. chapter fourteen
  21. chapter fifteen
  22. chapter sixteen
  23. chapter seventeen
  24. chapter eighteen
  25. chapter nineteen
  26. chapter twenty
  27. chapter twenty-one
  28. chapter twenty-two
  29. chapter twenty-three
  30. chapter twenty-four
  31. chapter twenty-five
  32. chapter twenty-six
  33. chapter twenty-seven
  34. chapter twenty-eight
  35. chapter twenty-nine
  36. chapter thirty
  37. chapter thirty-one
  38. chapter thirty-two
  39. chapter thirty-three
  40. chapter thirty-four
  41. chapter thirty-five
  42. chapter thirty-six
  43. chapter thirty-seven
  44. chapter thirty-eight
  45. chapter thirty-nine
  46. chapter forty
  47. chapter forty-one
  48. chapter forty-two
  49. chapter forty-three
  50. chapter forty-four
  51. chapter forty-five
  52. chapter forty-six
  53. chapter forty-seven
  54. chapter forty-eight
  55. epilogue
  56. acknowledgments

Emily pulled in a breath, her arms clamping tightly around my waist as I dug my heals into the horse’s sides and her trot moved into a gallop. I leaned forward and so did Emily, following my lead. The horse seemed eager to run, not holding back in the least, the wind whipping her mane back and making me squint and laugh. Behind me, Emily laughed too, her body hot and soft against my own.

We raced across the hard-packed earth, the sun’s flame being quenched by the icy stars. The world didn’t matter. None of my problems or regrets could keep up. It was only us, wild and free, laughing with abandon, blood pumping furiously through my veins, and Emily’s arms holding me like she’d never let go.

We all might crash and burn, but for that moment, for right then, we were young and alive, and we had already come so far that I believed nothing could stop us now.

The sprawling house came into view, a modern-looking barn off to the side and a corral where I saw five or six horses milling about. I pulled on the horse’s reins, and she slowed, her mane falling back into place as her gallop slowed to a trot. I could feel Emily’s heart racing against my back, her laughter fading, quickened breath still warming my ear. “Tuck,” she murmured, and I wondered if she even knew she said my name.

My body felt alive, but so did my heart and my soul. She’d always done that for me when no one else could. And I didn’t even know exactly how, but I’d craved it, needed it, and I’d had no idea how much.

The horse came to a halt, bending her head to nibble at a patch of dry grass.

Emily grasped my shoulders and then climbed around my body to face me, her core pressed to mine as our eyes met, breath mingling. She leaned forward gently as my body hardened, and I let out a small sound of pained bliss. I wanted her. I wanted her so desperately I was quivering with it.

We breathed together for a few stilted moments, eyes searching, her pretty lips parting. And then I couldn’t hold back another second, suddenly feeling like I’d barely managed to hold on all my life. I wrapped my hand around the back of her neck and pulled her forward and then I met her mouth with mine.

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chapter thirty-four

Emily

I let out a strangled sound of relief and pleasure as his tongue swept into my mouth, claiming me. Him. The man who’d kept me safe as the world around us crumbled. The boy I’d loved all my life. Tuck.