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Chapter Seventeen
“You’re making me extremely nervous,” Corbin said as he watched Belle lean out the open hatch of the hayloft.
She glanced back over her shoulder and sent him a sassy smile. To say she looked stunning with her ebony hair flowing around her shoulders and her naked body highlighted by the blue sky and the afternoon sun would be an understatement. She looked like a fantasy come to life.
His fantasy.
How many times in high school had he thought about this exact scenario? Being naked in the Holiday Ranch hayloft with a dark-haired beauty. Back then, he had wanted that beauty to be Liberty. But now, he only wanted Belle.
“I’m just trying to see where Gilley is.” She leaned a little farther out and his heart dropped.
“Dammit, Bella!” He got up from the blanket they’d spread on the hay and pulled her away from the opening and into his arms. It never failed to amaze him how well she fit.
“You are such a worrywart.” She looped her arms around his shoulders. “Do you know that?”
“I do.” He kissed her. She melted into the kiss just like she had melted into his arms. He started to lower her back down to the blanket, but she stopped him.
“We don’t have time. I have to go into town and meet with Tammy Sue about her daughter’s birthday party.”
“I thought you were taking time off.” He kissed his way down her neck. As always, she smelled like sunshine and lemons.
“I was, but I can’t let my pregnant sisters take on all the town’s events. The Memorial Day picnic proved event planning is too much for them and Liberty won’t be back until Monday.”
“Actually, she and Jesse are coming back today.” He filled his hand with a soft naked breast and groaned with pleasure. But that pleasure was short lived when she pushed out of his arms.
“Today? They’re coming back today? But what about the Grossmans’ wedding in Houston?”
“Jesse said the bride cancelled it last minute.”
Belle looked horrified. “And Liberty didn’t try to talk her out of it? Danielle really loves Joshua. She just got cold feet and needed to be talked down from her panic.”
Corbin sighed because it looked like he wasn’t going to get another roll in the hay. Which was probably for the best since he had a pile of work he needed to get done—not to mention horse stalls to clean out and foreman resumes to look over.
He grabbed his boxers and pulled them on. “I don’t think talking people down from their panic is Liberty’s forte. That’s yours, Bella. Which is why you two make such a good team. Liberty is the assertive businesswoman who won’t take crap from anyone and you’re the—”
“Weak doormat.”
He glanced at her. “I was going to say the sweet negotiator. The one who makes everything come together and run smoothly without a hitch. Liberty might be a vocal leader, but leaders can’t lead without a strong wingman. Or woman in this case.”
“You think I’m strong?”
“One of the strongest women I’ve ever met.”
A bright smile spread over her face. “I am pretty strong.”
“Hell yeah, you are. You certainly brought me to my knees last night.” Her entire body flamed a pretty pink and he couldn’t resist dropping the jeans he’d just picked up and pulling her back into his arms. “Don’t tell me you’re embarrassed about what you did, Bella. Because you certainly didn’t act embarrassed last night, my brazen lioness.”
She beamed. In the last few days, he’d come to realize how much she loved being called empowering names. And he loved how she took on the roles.
“Brazen lioness?” She scraped her nails over his back, sending heat straight to his groin. “Maybe you would like to feel my claws.”
“I’d love to feel your claws.”
She showed him more than just her claws. She used her teeth and her tongue to drive him absolutely wild. When he was on the edge of oblivion, she straddled him and rode him hard and fast. She seemed to love being on top and he certainly didn’t have a problem with it.
“I think I like the lioness as much as the goddess and the siren,” he breathed when they had both found release and were cuddled together. A sniff had him tensing. When hot tears hit his chest, he completely panicked. “Bella.” He lifted her chin to find her green eyes watery and her cheeks wet. “What’s wrong, baby? What happened?”
She swallowed hard. “She didn’t even call to tell me she was coming home.”
