“You’re such an ass.”
“I’m your ass,” he growled, slamming his mouth down on mine.
I wanted to fight him. I wanted to kick him and punch him, to yell at him that he would never control me or have any say over me. But as he kissed me and I melted in his arms, I knew he would win me over in the end. Not because I was weak, but because I already loved this man.
And I was meant to be his, no matter what that meant.
He broke the kiss, his thumb caressing my jaw before running over my lips. “I didn’t stay away from you for ten years because I’m a coward or I didn’t want you,” he said softly. “You were going through a lot, so I kept my distance. And then Jeff had the accident and…you know how that turned out.”
“I know,” I whispered. “But after?—”
“The ranch was failing, Bailey. No matter how much I wanted you…it took years to save our asses. We’re finally in a good place and—I never wanted to wait that fucking long. If it were up to me, I would have had you in my bed from the time you were legal.”
I blushed furiously under his intense gaze, but finally relented.
“Get your bags packed. We’re leaving in ten minutes.”
I opened my mouth to give what would have been the weakest argument in the world, but he narrowed his eyes at me, instantly making me rethink the validity of any argument I would put up.
“Get dressed. I have bigger plans than arguing with you for the night.”
He kissed me one last time, then stormed out of my room. Maybe I should have argued. Maybe I should have put up a bigger fight and demanded he treat me like the independent woman I’d always been.
But his words got to me, stabbed me in the heart and bled all over my body.
I was his. I always would be, and nothing would ever get between us.
Rain peltedthe road as we bumped along the drive to his house. There were definitely some improvements that needed to be made onthe ranch, but the whole town knew about the troubles Murky Falls Ranch had seen over the last few years.
Between the sale of the cows and having to overhaul the rest of the ranch into a profitable business, it was no wonder his driveway was of little concern.
I gazed out at the mountains in the distance, reveling in their beauty. I had been out to the ranch many times before, but never to Liam’s house. From here, I could see the river flowing behind his house, bringing an added element of beauty that couldn’t be seen from where the property started.
“We’re gonna have to make a run for it,” he said, peering up at the sky through the windshield. “It doesn’t look like it’s going to let up any time soon.”
“I won’t melt,” I grinned, snagging one of the bags in my hand just before flinging the door open and making a mad dash to the porch.
I squealed as I mistook a puddle for what it really was—a giant pot hole. My boots sank in the water for only a moment, but it was enough to splash cold water up onto my thighs.
The moment my feet hit the ground on the other side of the puddle, I was scooped up into Liam’s strong arms and rushed to the safety of his covered wrap-around porch.
Laughing, I clung to him as the rain drenched me and water dripped off his roof, landing right on my face.
“What the hell are you laughing about?”
“The rain,” I said as he set me down. Peeling my hair from my face, I glanced down at my once dry clothes and laughed again. “I really hope you have a working dryer.”
“I thought you weren’t afraid of getting caught in the rain,” he rumbled, stalking closer to me.
“Not afraid of it,” I confirmed. “But wearing wet clothes the rest of the night would be awfully uncomfortable.”
“Who said anything about clothes?” he asked, tugging me into his arms.
“Then I guess you’d better do a good job of warming me up. I’m chilled to the bone.”
“I can do that.” Pressing his body against mine, I could already feel the heat emanating from his body, despite the wet clothes he wore.
I was ready for him to take me right now, but the front porch did seem like a rather open place to tear off my clothes.
