Hayden swayed on her feet as she blinked away a couple more tears. It was strange to grieve for someone she’d only properly met as they were taking their final breaths. After Austin’s storytelling, the people on the ranch seemed sort of like celebrities to her. She knew all about them, but they had no clue who she was. Even if they had been strangers, it would have been impossible to remain unfazed by the outpouring of sorrow from everyone surrounding her when her own emotions were so ragged and close to the surface.

She swore she’d cried more in the past few days than in the rest of her life combined. At least with her new medicines, she wasn’t experiencing the stabbing pain in her side she’d come to associate with stressful situations.

“You must be exhausted.” Austin came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist as they watched the coroner drive away after interviewing them and handling Jake’s body. She wasn’t sure if he was comforting her or drawing strength from her when he kissed the top of her head then rested his chin there. Maybe both. “Do you still have your key to my place?”

“I’m not leaving without you.” She spun in his arms then and hugged him tight. It was only right to give him what comfort she could in his time of need. After all, he’d been there for her in hers.

Austin’s father, Silas, must have overheard them. He approached and said, “There’s nothing else you can do here. Take her home. Be careful if you talk to your cousins. No one has been able to reach James yet.”

Oh God. Hayden hadn’t even thought of that. It would be devastating to break the news to them. At least she could be there with Austin if he had to deal that blow to his best friend.

“Thank you. Jake’s greatest fear was dying alone. Because of you, he didn’t have to,” Silas said to her before someone dragged him away to attend to one of a million other important things happening in the aftermath of Jake’s death. She didn’t even have a chance to respond.

At that point both she and Austin seemed incapable of reacting normally. They really did need to get out of there and chill out.

“Ever ride a horse before?” Austin wondered.

“Nope.”

“Then you can double up with me. I won’t let you fall.” He led her to a stall. The horse there lifted its head and huffed out a breath almost as if it was greeting him. “This is Aubrey.”

“That’s an unusual name for a horse, isn’t it?”

He shrugged. “Honestly, I think it was some kind of inside joke. Who knows around here? Anyway… He’s really gentle, don’t worry.”

With Austin to keep her safe, she wasn’t concerned in the least. In fact, if it wouldn’t result in her broken neck, a full-speed gallop sounded more cathartic at the moment. It disturbed her more to hear the inconsolable sobbing coming from a few stalls down where Austin’s aunt Cindy and uncle Sam mourned together over the loss of their friend while Austin saddled the horse. Hayden wondered what stories Austin might have left out about the pair of them and Jake. His loss seemed to cut them deeper than most. Hayden rubbed her side, impacted by their distress.

“Is it hurting?” Austin seemed poised to throw her over his shoulder and race her back to the emergency room, just in case.

“No. It’s okay,” she promised. “Just habit.”

“I’ve had enough, too,” Austin told her as he finished saddling the horse. “I need to go somewhere quiet for a while. Somewhere you and I can be alone and unwind.” He slapped his hat against his thigh.

Hayden wished she knew how to help him relax as he’d done for her repeatedly. The only thing that came to mind—which involved getting naked and very sweaty—might not be a strategy he’d appreciate. The more she thought about it, though, the better of an idea it sounded like.

“Up you go.” He curled his fingers, gesturing for her to come closer. When she did, he took her left hand and put it on the horse’s withers. “Grab a handful of mane. Put your other hand on the saddle.”

She did as he instructed. Up close the docile horse seemed a lot more powerful. It was beautiful.

Austin reached down and tapped her left shin. “Pick up this foot. On the count of three, pull yourself up. I’ll give you a boost.”

On his signal, she hopped and pulled, but his assist beneath her knee and ankle made her feel like she was flying onto the horse’s back. With Austin, everything was easier.

“Great, now scoot behind the saddle.” He steadied her while she adjusted her position.

“Do you always have to drive?” she teased as he joined her with a single graceful motion, taking the reins.

“It’s kind of my thing, but if you’re interested I’m happy to teach you some other time.” He glanced over his shoulder, smiling at her. “Wrap your arms around me and hang on. We’re going to walk, and he knows this trail by heart, but any animal could always get spooked.”

With Austin in control she figured that wasn’t very likely. He was an expert at keeping the horses calm and leading them where he wanted them to go. His skills worked on people, too. She should know since he’d put them to good use handling her until he’d gained her trust.

She hugged him, enjoying the freedom to explore the ridges and valleys of his ripped abdomen in the name of safety. Hayden laid her cheek between his shoulders and sighed.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yup.” If he only knew how ready she was. Not only for the trip, like he’d intended.

They were silent as they meandered back to his apartment. The swish of long grass and the rustle of new spring leaves lulled her as they swayed in time to the motion of the horse. The tranquil surroundings countered their lingering anguish.

Wrapped around Austin, it was easy to sense his body relaxing against her bit by bit. Her knotted muscles began to melt, too. Her chest and his back pressed more closely together by the minute.

When they crested a gentle hill and she spotted his barn at the foot of it, she sighed.

“Almost there.”

“I’m not in any rush,” she murmured. “This is nice. It feels like we’re somewhere else, far away from all our problems.”

“This week has been…overwhelming. That’s for damn sure.” He cleared his throat. “It’s too much. Every time I think we’ve turned a corner, something else happens. And that’s not a challenge, life. You’re welcome to get better instead of worse this time.”

For the first time, she saw him being something other than utterly positive. It was her turn to lift him up.

She lost the opportunity to act when he disentangled her arms from around him then dismounted outside his house. He opened the big bay before leading the horse inside with her still on it. Austin put the horse in the single stall at the rear of the building, removed its saddle, and held his arms up to her. She went into them, maybe a little too eagerly.

As he lowered her to the floor, their torsos slid across each other inch by inch.

Hayden trusted her instincts. When he paused with her at eye level, she whispered. “I think I know a way to turn things around.”

He hummed and craned his neck to capture her lips with his, accepting her invitation for what it was. Hayden wrapped her thighs around his hips and crossed her legs behind his back. He palmed her ass and began to walk, pausing only to shut the stall door behind them.

They didn’t make it far. As she teased him with the tip of her tongue against his lips, he groaned. Austin spun around and pressed her shoulders to his rig. He leaned into her, trapping her between the searing heat of his muscles and the cool metal. For the first time, he wasn’t treating her with kid gloves.

And she loved it.

Hayden buried her fingers in his hair, tugging some to encourage his welcome aggression. One of his hands glided up from her ass to her side. He slipped it beneath her shirt and skimmed up her uninjured ribs until his thumb rested right below her breast. Hayden gasped in anticipation, her head rocking backward.

All that did was expose her throat to Austin. He took advantage, kissing and nipping some of the most sensitive parts of her. She arched in his hold, grinding her pelvis against his. She whimpered when something steely pressed between her thighs. “That’s one hell of a belt buckle.”

“I’m not wearing one, baby.” He chuckled and rocked his hips to make her aware of the full length of his hard-on tucked between her legs.

“Oh fuck,” she moaned.

“That’s where this is headed if we’re not careful.” He forced her to meet his stare, which she’d never seen so intense before. His gaze bored into her. “Is that really what you’re asking for?”

“Yes.” No doubt about it.

“I need to get lost in you. So bad.” He sealed his confession with another kiss, this one overflowing with passion and a hint of desperation. She knew exactly how he felt. After realizing her father was gone forever, a sense of urgency had infiltrated her spirit. She didn’t want to spend another moment not living her life to the fullest.

Very few things she’d ever experienced had felt as good as this. She craved more.

A lot more.

Austin didn’t seem willing to waste any time either. He yanked down the soft turquoise leggings she wore beneath the tunic shirt he’d picked out for her, then slid the crotch of her panties to the side. A moment later, a strangled cry escaped her as he plunged two thick fingers inside her.

It had been so long since she’d been that full. Stars danced in her vision even as her body clamped down on his hand. It hurt some. Joy, pleasure, and relief eclipsed the pain.

He growled as he began to move his fingers within her, spreading her moisture along her channel. His thumb flicked over her clit, drawing more lubrication from her to coat his digits. When he slid easily in and out, he withdrew, leaving her panting.

“You’re so hot. So soft.” He kissed her again, with greater urgency. “I can’t wait until my cock is buried inside you, being hugged by that pretty pussy.”

Whoa. No one had ever talked to Hayden like that. Her arousal spiked. If she didn’t find an outlet for the rush of feelings swirling inside her, they would tear her apart. “Do it.”

Austin reached into his back pocket and withdrew his wallet. He took a condom from inside and ripped it open with his teeth. He shifted her slightly, just enough to jam his hands between them, yank his zipper down, withdraw his hard-on, and cover himself with the latex before setting the blunt tip of it against the opening to her body.

Nothing had ever felt so right.

“I swear I will make this up to you later.” He braced his left forearm on the trailer beside her head and guided himself inside her with his right hand.

At first he seemed stuck barely within her. She cried out his name and clawed his back, stunned by the intensity of their first joining. Every inch she lowered onto his shaft sent a riot of sensation up her spine. She stopped thinking and gave in to instinct.

Austin worked inside her until she swore she couldn’t take even a tiny bit more. He packed her completely, took every bit of her emptiness, and made it his.

By the time he began to drill within her—with quick jabs then longer strokes—she could already sense the tightening of her pussy. Each time he tapped her clit with his torso, she spasmed around him.

And when he threaded his hand beneath both her shirt and her bra to squeeze her breast, she knew it wasn’t going to take much more to cause her to explode. He pinched her nipple lightly and covered her mouth with his. Austin plundered, sucking on her tongue and never once looking away from her eyes. She saw it then, in his stare. The same frantic yearning she felt.

That was what put her over the edge—knowing he needed her as badly as she needed him.

Hayden screamed and quaked in his arms. She flew into an orgasm so intense she thought she might black out. Just when she was certain she had experienced as much ecstasy as humanly possible, Austin set himself loose on her. He fucked her hard and fast, driving completely within her as she undulated around him.

He bucked and roared. Several grunts echoed through the barn as he poured his lust into the condom he wore then stilled, embedded to the hilt inside her. They couldn’t possibly have gotten any closer than they were at that moment, and she wasn’t only thinking of their bodies. Loss and fear had leveled them. The bond they were forging could be a foundation to rebuild their lives on.

“Shit, I can’t believe I just did that.” He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. “I tried to be so gentle with you. Careful. And then I acted like a savage anyway. I didn’t want to be like other guys...”

“If that’s what every other guy is like, I’ve been missing out.” She shot him a rueful grin, fully aware he was referring to her ex. “I’m wrecked. That was incredible.”

She wanted to do it again. Lots.

Austin leaned his forehead on hers and laughed softly. “Thanks. At least let me take care of you now.”

She already felt pretty well spoiled, but she didn’t have the strength to argue when he lifted her into his arms and carried her upstairs. In his bedroom, he laid her gently on the plush mattress. Austin toed off his boots, then ripped off his shirt and hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his jeans. When he slipped them off, she realized he was half hard again already.

She licked her lips.

“It’s no wonder I lost it down there. I didn’t mean to fuck you like a rabid animal.” He stripped her as he talked, admiring every part of her that he revealed to his gaze, pausing to kiss and caress along the way. “Especially after what you’ve been through, I had hoped that if we ever got to this point, I could show you I was better than that.”

“How much better could it be?” she wondered rhetorically, and held her arms out to him.

Though she could have easily passed an entire afternoon appreciating his naked form, she’d rather have it tucked against her, keeping her warm.

It seemed he agreed when he slid between the covers and gathered her to him so she draped over his chest like another blanket. Hayden had been transported to a place where emotion ruled over reason. So when her instincts told her to pacify Austin the best way she knew how, she went with it. She kissed him softly, over and over.

She folded her arms on his chest and studied his face as they made out endlessly.

Eventually she needed a break to catch her breath.

“Thank you for staying with me today.” He held her tight, stroked down the length of her back from her shoulders to the rise of her ass. In some sick way, it felt amazing to know he’d needed to lean on her like she’d done with him this past week. It sucked that he’d fallen to her level. Yet in that dark moment, she’d felt like his equal.

Which could explain why she acted on the connection that had grown between them every second they spent together. Hayden brushed the hair off his brow lightly then kissed him. It was her turn to take care of him, to give him solace even if that meant surrendering to his affection instead of being the aggressor in bed. Anything that brought him comfort was fair game.

“I didn’t intend to take advantage of you and your empathy,” he whispered against her lips.

“You’re not. I’m taking advantage of you and your suffering to justify something I’ve been wanting to do anyway.” She owed him the truth about that.

“Oh. Well, that’s okay then.” The corner of his mouth kicked up slightly. “Seriously, Hayden, I’ve been dying to show you how a real man treats his woman. Today of all days, it seems like wasting time or finding excuses to withhold your feelings from someone should be a crime. So I’m going to be honest—I think you’re an amazing woman. I want you. Bad.”

“Take me then. For tonight”—and maybe every night, she added silently—“I’m yours.”

She sealed her promise with a kiss. It wasn’t tentative or innocent.

No, this was a passionate battle cry.

Austin rose to the occasion. He groaned and tunneled his fingers into her hair, flexing them against her scalp until he urged her close enough that he could devour her. Blissed on rejuvenating lust, she squeaked when he rolled, taking her to her back so that he hovered over her on straight-locked arms.

“If you’re mine, I can do whatever I want with you, right?” He trailed the tip of his index finger over her swollen lips, making her shiver.

She nodded.

“Good, then lie back and spread your legs.” He waited until she obeyed, then pressed the inside of her thigh. “Wider.”

Hayden did as told. Austin snaked his way down her body, touching and tasting every patch of skin he passed along the long, winding, very circuitous path he took. He spent forever teasing her and sampling each part of her body. A long while later, his chin nudged her mound. She called out his name.

“Hmm?” He peeked up at her with a grin. “Is there something you want?”

Hayden nodded.

“Ask for it, baby.” He pulled back enough to blow softly over her pussy.

“Lick it. Please.” Her hand moved to the back of his head, but he wasn’t having any of that.

Austin wrapped his fingers around her wrists then held them against the bed, trapping them. It should have terrified her. It didn’t.

“Is this okay?” he double-checked anyway.

“I’m dying. Please.”

The vibrations from his wicked laugh nearly undid her. Her hips lifted off the bed as she sought deeper contact. He didn’t disappoint. Hayden couldn’t believe sex like this had been possible her whole life and she’d only had the faintest idea. Embarrassment might have derailed her rapture if Austin hadn’t refused to let her be distracted.

He licked, sucked, and rubbed, fingered and ate.

All she could do was enjoy. And she did. Her heels drummed on the bed restlessly as she grew closer to orgasm. Austin redoubled his efforts, refusing to let her retreat from the onslaught of pleasure. He added his fingers to the mix, inserting them into her pussy and curling them so they tapped some secret place even she hadn’t known about before.

Hayden screamed as she shattered. She rode his face shamelessly as he wrung drop after drop of arousal from her. When she eventually regained awareness, she expected to return the favor.

Austin shook his head. “I’m not finished with you.”

“Hmm?” She couldn’t form a more articulate response.

Instead of wasting his energy on talking, Austin began the process of arousing her all over again. And again, and again, and again. She lost count of how many times he made her climax, wringing pleasure from her until she thought she might drown in it.

Only when she begged him for a break did he crawl up her body and smother her with his huge, hard body. He kissed her, sharing the taste of her own arousal merged with the flavor of his lips. His cock sat heavily on her belly as he toyed with her mouth.

Though she would have thought it impossible minutes before, she ached to hold him inside her again. “Austin, please fuck me.”

“No, baby.” He nuzzled her neck. “There’s something I want more. I haven’t made love to anyone in a very long time. Not like this. I’m going to bury myself in you, slow and deep. I’m going to ride you as long as I can before I give in to whatever this is between us.”

Oh. Well, shit. That sounded good, too.

She put her hands on his hips and tried to steer him into place. Austin grinned. “Don’t worry, I’m going to give you all of me. I swear. In fact, unless you have an objection, I’m going in bare. I’m clean and I know you are too since you asked me to stay when you talked with the doctor the other day. And we’re both on birth control…”

“Oh God, yes. Do it.” And then he was there, answering her prayers. He glided into her with a single persistent penetration that made her eyes roll back in her head. She tried to outlast him, but it was impossible.

“I didn’t say anything about you waiting. Go ahead, Hayden. Come for me. Come on me.”

Her body obeyed him without pause.

Still he didn’t cave. She crested several times before sweat beaded on his brow and his jaw clenched so tight she thought he might crack a tooth.

Austin’s hands roamed across her, everywhere he could reach. She mirrored him, stroking his back and grabbing his bunching ass as he sped up almost imperceptibly.

Hayden knew she’d been on the right track last week when she’d thought the safe haven of his trailer had been her salvation. But this, coming apart in his arms as he flooded her with his desire, was truly heaven on earth.

With one last guttural moan, Austin emptied himself into her.

They whispered praise to each other as they cuddled, wallowing in the sheer bliss they’d generated together to salve some of their recent hurts. They spent the rest of the day and the entire night learning all the ways they could make each other feel incredible.

They might not have gotten much sleep, but the next morning Hayden felt rested and refreshed. Prepared to handle the difficult days ahead. Together, they could survive pretty much anything.

Or at least she was foolish enough to think so at the time.