“Concentrating when you’re around.”
I groaned.
“It’s true,” he said, taking a bite of the same pizza slice he’d offered me.
I grabbed another slice and ate it while tucked in his lap as we chatted about our day. Once the pizza and salad were gone, he stood from the island with me in his arms.
I guess it wasn’t a surprise that he was able to haul me around the way he could. I mean, he hauled around trees and who knew what else on the farm on a daily basis. But no one I’d ever dated before could do it, so I was still surprised every time he picked me up.
“Where are we going?” I asked when he was halfway through the family room.
“To your surprise.”
“But what about the dishes?”
“Leave them for later.”
I didn’t argue. Why would I? I didn’t want to wash dishes when I could be with him.
At the front door, he set me on my feet. “Coat and shoes,” he said. “Hat too.”
“We’re going outside?”
“Just for a minute.”
I didn’t argue because the last time he took me for a surprise, he had carved our initials in the oak tree. I was curious to see what he’d come up with now.
Once we were dressed, he held out his hand, palm up. “Can I have your car keys?”
“Where’s your truck?” I asked, suspicious.
“Somewhere.”
“Could you be any more vague?” I wondered.
“Probably.”
I rolled my eyes but handed over my car keys. “It probably won’t start. My car doesn’t like you.”
He made a sound. “Why the hell not?”
“Because you don’t like her.”
He glowered. “Just because I like my truck better does not mean I don’t like your Outback.”
“You called it a city boy car.”
“I wanted to get on your nerves,” he intoned.
“You succeeded.” The smart retort turned into a little yelp when I found myself pinned against the front door by Archer’s considerable weight.
Hands on either side of my head, he leaned in, blue eyes steady on mine. “Right now, I want to take you down to the barn, strip off all the layers between us, and get inside you,” he rumbled.
I exhaled shakily as his beard scraped over the side of my cheek and jaw. “Yes, please,” I whispered.
He stepped back, and instantly, I missed being crowded by him. Reaching around me, he unlatched the door. “In the car, baby.”
Without even so much as a thought, I jogged down the steps and through the whipping wind, sleet, and snow to throw myself into the passenger seat of my car.
