Page 47 of Westin

“Come with me,” I say.

“Where?”

“Out.”

She shakes her head. “I have chores.”

I take her by the chin and pull her face up. “Fuck it. Come with me to Sovereign Mountain tonight.”

I expect her to refuse right away, but instead, she considers it. Something really has changed since I saw her last.

“The men won’t be back until tomorrow,” she whispers finally.

“He’ll never know.”

She bites her lip. Then, she nods, and for the first time in a week, her beautiful face lights up like sunshine. God, I can’t resist her. My mouth comes down on hers, and she kisses me through her smile.

I kiss her back, and she tastes like I’m not leaving without her today.

She goes upstairs. I close up the barn, leaving the side door open so the horses can go inside once the sun sets. Then, I lock the chickens in the coop and meet her on the front porch.

She’s in her boots and her little yellow dress, her hair loose over her shoulders. My eyes wander over the freckles on her bare nape.

I’m going to taste her there. I’ll kiss down her spine, ease her legs apart, and lick between her thighs.

I get her for a night. I feel like the richest man in the world.

Her hand slips in mine, and my heart goes crazy as I lead her over the field and down the short hill to where I parked in the shade. I help her into the truck and toss her bags in the back with a straw bale and a bag of apples I picked up at the convenience store the other day. There’s a jug of water, which might be warm, but it’ll work.

I lift her by the waist and put her into the passenger side. She glances at me sideways.

“No yellow lily today?” she asks.

“You said to let them grow,” I say.

She turns and puts her hand on my face. Our eyes lock, and the hair rises on the back of my neck.

I think I’ll marry this girl. She must feel my breath hitch, because she falters, her lips parting. I’m speechless, so I take my hat off and fit it on her head.

“There you go, so the sun doesn’t bleach your hair,” I say.

She smiles, all the sadness gone.

“Thank you, sir,” she whispers.

My brain thrums. My dick twitches. My eyes drag down her bare arms, and the memory of my belt wrapped around her wrists is strong. Maybe we’ll take a detour before we get back to the gatehouse.

I settle in the driver’s side and turn the key. The windows are down, and her hair whips around her face as I get back on the road. But we don’t head towards Sovereign Mountain. Instead, I take a back road paved with loose gravel.

“Where are we going?” she asks, letting one arm hang out the window.

“You want a swim?” I ask. “It’s pretty hot out.”

She glances sideways. “I didn’t bring a suit.”

I shrug. “I didn’t either.”

The tension in the cab crackles like the air before a storm. She bites that full lower lip and her breasts heave. I slide my hand over her knee and grip her bare inner thigh—the soft part, right below her sex.

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