Logan and Blake hang out with Liam and me for a little while before Liam asks me if I’m ready to leave.
I’ve been simultaneously desperate for and dreading this moment.
Liam and I are about to be alone for the first time since he kissed me in front of everybody. We haven’t had a second to discuss it, and I’m afraid he’s going to broach it with the dreadedthat was a mistakeintro.
“Y’all should come back and visit,” Blake says as I hug him goodbye. “You brought a lot of excitement to our chore-filled afternoon at the ranch.”
I laugh. “I think your horse brought most of the excitement, but I’m happy to have contributed.”
As Liam and I exit the bar, the stifling night air hits my bare skin. For dinner, I changed out of my jeans and shirt into a green mini-dress and white sandals. I’m feeling exposed in every way. And I have to say, I’m kind of loving it. Texas has a way of making a person feel comfortable in their own skin, maybe because it’s so freaking hot. Whatever it is, the feeling is a perfect match to how I feel being with Liam.
“Was your agent concerned about the video going viral?” I ask him.
I’ve been dreading having this conversation with him. I feel weird asking him about his brand being impacted by him kissing me. But I have to ask.
“The important thing is that I’m not concerned at all,” he says, stopping to look at me. “My agent was more concerned about me putting myself in harm’s way with the horse than with me kissing you.”
“Ashley texted me again and said that social has already given us a nickname.”
He grins. “Oh yeah? What’s our name?”
“Hiam. It’s a colloquial term in Singapore for hot and spicy.”
“I think that fits.” He takes my jaw between his thumb and forefinger. “This is par for the course when you’re in the public eye, unfortunately. The good news is that tomorrow someone else will do something, and they’ll forget all about us. Honestly, don’t even give it a second thought. Okay? I don’t regret anything that happened or that it was on camera.”
I exhale in relief. “Okay.”
We resume our stroll back to the ranch to his truck.
His hand brushes mine by accident, and I grip onto the strap of my purse to avoid any further awkwardness.
But as we round the bend onto the ranch where a stand of oak trees block us from the road and the house, Liam catches my wrist and turns me toward him.
“Haley,” he says before he shocks the hell out of me for the second time today.
He cups the back of my head with his large hand and kisses me.
This time, it’s a long, slow kiss where he burns me with his lips. A good burn I can feel from my mouth to my toes. The kind of tingle I don’t ever want to end.
His tongue probes for entrance, and as I open for him, I reach out and wrap my arms around his muscled torso. He groans, and then it’s like we both lose control of rational thinking.
We sink down to the ground, which is a level field of mostly burnt-out grass.
Liam’s not just a good kisser.
Liam’s agreatkisser.
He must be amazing in bedcrosses through my brain as he pulls me on top of him.
His hands are all over my ass.
“So you are an ass guy,” I tease him.
“I’m also a breast guy,” he says as he strokes my nipples. “And a legs guy.” He runs his hands up and down the insides of my thighs. “You make me absolutely crazy, Haley,” he mutters against my mouth. “So crazy. I want to be inside you right now.”
“Yes,” I breathe into his lips. “Please. Right now.” I’m so turned on that I can barely get the last two words out.
I sit up and straddle him so I can unbutton his jeans. When my hand wraps around his thick erection, I halt.
