Caught in the Act (Independence Falls 2)

“I want to make love to you,” he said, his large, strong hands cupping her jaw. “Let me love you tonight, Katie. That’s all I ask.”

She nodded, no longer trusting her voice. He stared down at her for another heartbeat before lowering his lips to hers. Through a whirlwind of needy kisses, their clothes fell away. His hands were e

verywhere, touching, caressing, and driving her wild as he guided her to the bed.

“Lie down, Katie.”

Again she obeyed, willing to give him anything here, tonight. His gaze swept over her and he let out a low growl, followed by a curse.

“I wasn’t planning to stay,” he said. “I didn’t bring anything.”

She blinked as he joined her on the bed. His body covered hers, hovering above her, his weight on his elbows as his kissed her collarbone.

“I don’t have a condom, Katie.” His lips moved to her breasts, heading south. “I still want to make love to you, but I can’t—”

“In the nightstand,” she gasped, as he shifted off her and fumbled with the drawer. Turning her head, she watched as he withdrew an unopened box and tore into it. He quickly covered himself and returned to her.

Katie smiled, welcoming him back into her arms. “You don’t need to rush. We have all night, Liam. All night.”

But beyond that? Katie closed her eyes, pushing the question away, choosing to focus on the man loving her as if this night meant everything—as if it was all they had.

Chapter 18

LIAM WOKE TO the smell of coffee and a beautiful naked woman standing beside him. “Hey.”

“Morning.” She smiled down at him, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “You phone has been ringing on and off for a while. I think you overslept.”

“Shit. What time is it?”

“Eight.”

“Yeah, I need to get going.” Liam pushed back the covers and retrieved his cell from his pants pocket. Glancing at the screen, he saw half a dozen messages from Craig, one of Moore Timber’s crew chiefs.

“There’s a problem at one of the harvest sites,” he said, pulling on his pants. Buttoning his shirt, he looked up at her. She’d dressed and stood sipping a cup of coffee. “I hate to run, but this is important. The mechanical harvester isn’t working and if that’s not running, we’ll fall behind.”

“And time is money in timber,” she said. “I know. Go. I’ll see you later. At the meeting. You’ll be there?”

“I’ll try,” he said. He walked over and gave her a quick kiss. “This isn’t good-bye.”

She nodded, but didn’t say anything. Part of him wanted to stay and draw a promise out of her that whatever happened, this wasn’t the end. But his phone buzzed with another text and he knew he needed to leave.

In his truck, Liam pulled out his cell and dialed as he buckled his seat belt. A minute later, he steered his truck down the Summers driveway with his phone pressed to his ear. He sped past Chad’s truck, pulling up the drive, and offered a wave.

“Hello?” his best friend said after three rings.

“You can’t make this deal contingent on Katie.” Liam turned onto the main road headed out of town. “I won’t be at the meeting this morning. There’s a problem at the harvest. But I’m telling you, restructure the offer. I told Katie about it last night. I couldn’t keep it from her.”

“When I heard you two had run off to a remote cabin for the weekend, I had a feeling that might happen,” Eric said. In the background, Liam heard his friend’s nephew trying to trade a toy dinosaur for a second serving of maple syrup. “She didn’t go for it.”

Eric sighed. “I can’t just give them millions of dollars without some promise that Katie will stay and help us at least transition her relationships. I can give her options. But Liam, she might not like them.”

“She’s not going to agree to stay, man, I’m telling you.” Liam said, slowing down, knowing he would lose cell service soon.

“I thought you were going to work your magic,” Eric said. “Convince her to be your girl.”

“It didn’t work that way.” Liam tightened his grip on the wheel. “I swear, man, Katie fucking owns me, body, heart, and soul—the whole deal.”

“Ah, hell,” Eric said. In the background, Georgia admonished him for swearing.