Cowboy Crushin' (Dalton Boys Book 3) by Em Petrova Page A

the ranch, Witt?” Alex asked.
    “Wellll, I bet we might eat some birthday cake.”
    “Who has a birthday?” Shelby asked, sounding worried.
    “Beck.”
    “I don’t have a present. Swing by the shop and give me two minutes to fill a candy box.”
    “Sure thing. Do you have any of those apple pie delights?”
    The sun was setting, drenching her in golden light, but her flushed cheeks were evident to him. “I do.”
    “And those dark chocolate raspberry things you like.”
    They shared a look that told him she was thinking about him kissing the hell out of her while sampling the goods too.
    “I’ll make an assortment for everyone to share.” Her voice was breathy, and Witt’s jeans grew damn uncomfortable.
    “I like the bonbons with the candy alien eyeballs,” Alex added, and they both laughed.
    “Looks like we’ll make it home in time for evening chores. You ready to feed animals, Alex?”
    After that question the boy didn’t stop talking. He went on about the barn cats and why wouldn’t his mom let him keep one? Shelby rolled her eyes. Then he prattled on the last few miles about various kids in his class.
    Witt enveloped Shelby’s fingers and she didn’t pull away. The weight of that seeped into him.
    When he’d started making trips into Vixen to see her, he hadn’t given much thought to the future. He’d been driven to be close to her but hadn’t analyzed the why. Now that his thoughts had shifted onto a new path, he was contemplating the things he might have one day—a wife, family…and that piece of land his parents had promised him. It all might be within reach.
    He couldn’t see her agreeing to marry him quickly as Charlotte had with Hank. And Cash had won Maya in a different way—she’d needed help and marriage had given her citizenship, though the way they couldn’t keep their hands or eyes off each other verified it was a love match.
    But no, Shelby had a life established without Witt.
    He’d have to do some wooing.
    She tipped onto one hip and pulled her cell free. As she thumbed the screen, jealousy rose inside him. Was she still attached to these men who texted her all the damn time, or was she just addicted to her phone?
    He bit off a low growl.
    At the house, Momma ushered Shelby inside with her boxes of candy and Witt took Alex under wing. The child worked hard to please him, which only convinced Witt more that he needed the boy in his life. He never wanted to let Alex down either.
    By the time the sun was sinking out of sight, Alex’s eyes were drooping. Witt flipped him over his shoulder and carried him like a grain sack into the house with Alex giggling all the way. He plunked him down and Shelby took over, whisking him into his PJs and then tucking him into a cot in Witt’s room where she’d be sleeping too. Witt would take the bunkhouse.
    When Shelby descended the stairs, his heart drummed a wild beat. He drifted close and took her hand. “Everything settled?”
    She smiled softly. “Yes.”
    “Walk with me?”
    She nodded and he led her out into the moonlight. As they crossed the field, neither spoke. They didn’t have to—he felt a hundred percent comfortable, and he suspected she did too. Not a trace of tension lingered in her body.
    “This is nice,” she sighed at last.
    He followed her gaze upward to the crescent moon hanging in the spangled sky. “This is Paradise.”
    Her lips tilted up. “It is.” Then she began to talk about where she’d come from and how life was so different in Vixen but even more so here. Witt listened hard and heard things she wasn’t saying.
    Like how much she enjoyed being here. Their shoulders bumped, and they stopped walking.
    He tipped up her beautiful face to receive his kisses. Long, slow strokes of his tongue and more insistent passes that started the burn low in his gut. Then forceful nips as he devoured her.
    They tumbled into the grass and he braced his weight so he didn’t crush her. Every soft inch of the woman was