Page 12 of Chasing Liberty

Even if there was no Liberty that had him turned inside out, he still wouldn’t be interested in revisiting his old ways.

Once he was away from the watchful eyes of others, he fished out his wallet a second time and flicked through the bills. “How much for a dance?” He’d give her the money then bolt.

“I’ve already been paid, honey.” She opened the door to her right and gave him a shove inside the small, closet-like space that was barren outside of a wooden chair that looked a bit too flimsy. Even the color of the green walls sent his claustrophobia into high gear. He liked wide open spaces, and freedom. “Look, I don’t know who paid, but save your energy and time.” He guessed one of his crew thought it’d be funny. Whomever had done it better hope he didn’t find out.

He started to take a step when the lady grabbed the back of his shirt and forced him into the chair that creaked in resistance. He’d probably splinter the relic into toothpicks if he wasn’t careful. Now, he was a bit more annoyed. “I offered to pay. Why can’t you take no for an—”

The door whipped open, cutting off his words.Ah, shit.Now there were two he’d have to fight off. The newest dancerwas wearing a white cowgirl hat pulled low and wide sunglasses that covered more than half of her face. She was also dressed differently than the first dancer. The long-sleeved button-down shirt tied at the waist showed off a sliver of stomach and the skintight denims that showed off nice curves.

Something about her seemed…familiar…

So, he wasn’t seeing things.Wyler gnawed at the inside of his cheek.

The dancer laughed. “You’ve certainly got yourself a runner here, honey. Hope you brought rope.”

“I’ll handle him,” the lady said in a soft voice. “I know my way around his type.”

“Good luck.” The first dancer exited and closed the door with a soft click.

“What the hell, Liberty?” Wyler muttered.

“Enjoying yourself, cowboy?” She pulled off the sunglasses and hat and her shiny hair fell onto her shoulders, reminding him of the first time he saw her.

“This is ridiculous.” He should have known.

Liberty dropped her hat and glasses to the floor then planted her palms on her hips, smiling. “Hello, hubby. Am I interrupting your night out with the boys?”

Even though he was angry with her, his body still responded. She was a heady combination of feisty and confidence.

“I was on my way out before your friend took me hostage. You know, there’s at least a dozen easier, more suitable, ways you could have gotten my attention. Text message. Snail mail. Air mail. Smoke signals. Maybe even a social call.”

“That would have worked had you answered my calls.”

He touched his empty back pocket. He’d left his cell in the truck. “Patience is a virtue. How’d you find me?”

“It’s not a mystery that some of the crew hangs out here on the weekends. I took a stab you were here too when you weren’t at Mav’s. It’s interesting how well a wife knows her husband.” She laughed.

“Funny. Real funny,” he bit out.

“I didn’t want to start tongues wagging by walking up to you when you’re with the crew. Now that we’re separated, we need to be careful.”

“Hard to separate when the marriage was fake,” he growled.

“Such a bad attitude.”

“You and I agreed we weren’t seeing each other any longer, remember?” He felt an ache take up residence in the center of his chest. He remembered all too well, every detail, the last time they saw each other. Hell, he’d agreed to the entire farce from the beginning, and it wasn’t like they’d had much of a marriage anyway, outside of sex. Good sex. She spent most of her time away while he worked as hard as ever at Sagebrush Rose.

“Tsk. Tsk. You must have had a bad week,” she teased. “I heard it was a rough one.”

He had half a mind to drag her over his lap and swat her bottom, but he knew from experience that she’d like it. Back when they were sneaking around, she loved to explore.

“Why did you go to this much trouble? Let me guess, you were bored?” He swiped off his Stetson and hooked it on his knee and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. This might take a while because nothing was ever easy with a Rose.

She leaned over him, bracing her hands on his thighs. He caught a whiff of her scent—a pungent combination of vanilla and femininity—and he felt his zipper stretch. He hated that his body reacted so strongly to her.

“I had to get creative when I thought you didn’t want to talk to me.”

The way her shirt opened in front, just enough to show off the tops of her full, firm breasts, became too much of an enticement to keep his gaze focused on her face. He’d spent a lot of time kissing and fondling her lovely breasts because she had nice big nipples that were sensitive. She once had an orgasm just by him lavishing special attention to the mounds. “I’ve been busy.” He forced the words through his constricted throat.

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