Page 42 of Taken By Storm

Levi opened her door, helping her into the truck as she rolled her eyes.

“You know, I’ve been climbing into cars all by myself for twenty years.”

Levi pulled the seat belt over her, snapping it into place. “Yeah. But if you did it on your own, I couldn’t do this.” He gave her a soft kiss, intending for it to be short and sweet. That attempt failed the second his lips touched hers. He’d missed the hell out of her this afternoon, and they’d only been apart five hours. Not even that because he’d snuck down to the stand twice during work breaks to steal a few more kisses.

Kasi’s enthusiastic response to his kisses was what kept him coming back for more. Now that the shock of his newfound devotion was wearing off, she’d stopped fighting this thing between them, accepting his kisses and adding her own heat to them. Her tongue sought out his first, and he felt the edges of her lips tip in a smile when he nipped at it playfully. Her fingers fisted his hair, holding him close to prevent him from stopping. It was a wasted effort. He wasn’t going anywhere.

The kiss lingered long enough that Levi hit a crossroads. Faced with either putting the brakes on or stripping Kasi’s shorts off and taking her right here on the front seat of his truck.

Levi pulled back, forced to adjust his jeans.

Jesus. Ten minutes in his woman’s presence and he was rock-hard, every drop of blood in his body hanging out due south.

Kasi gave him a knowing grin when he straightened and attempted to walk normally—he failed—around the front of the truck.

Once he was in the truck, Levi fired it up and pulled away from the stand. “Hey. I wanted to talk to you about something. I spent the afternoon with Pete and Paul, plowing one of the burned fields, incorporating the cover crop back into the soil. Have you given any thought to what you might want to plant there? There are some good fall crops you could put in if you want to start something now. Carrots, radishes, lettuce, stuff that can survive the first frost.”

Kasi glanced out the passenger window as they drove down the dirt driveway to the farmhouse. “I hadn’t thought about that. Maybe I should ask…” She stopped, biting her lower lip.

“You should ask your dad.” Levi had been around enough the last few days to realize it was time Kasi and her family started to fix what was broken. Keith, while still a sullen son of a bitch, had been staying home more and contributing. Levi was calling that a win because every chore Keith took on was one less for Kasi.

She remained quiet rather than respond to his suggestion. He could tell she’d dismissed it out of hand. Then…he recalled her telling him it wasMrs. Mills who’d had made the major farm decisions. Maybe if she pulled her father in on the decision, he’d start taking an interest in the farm again.

“You should talk to him,” Levi pressed.

Kasi nodded slowly. “I will.” Given the way her gaze was locked on the driveway in front of them, he knew she’d just lied. He was tempted to call her on it and introduce her to those consequences she seemed to like the sound of, but he decided to let it slide.

Not the idea but the lie.

Levi had no intention of helping Kasi maintain the current status quo with her father. Something needed to give. So, he forged on with the other idea he’d come up with while plowing.

“Hey, it’s Theo’s night to cook, which means he’s grilling,” Levi said with a grin. “That’s all he ever does. It can be twenty below zero and the asshole will still fire up the grill.”

“You guys take turns cooking?”

“Yep. With seven of us, that means we each only have to cook one night a week, so it works out well.”

“I can’t imagine cooking for seven grown-ass men,” she said, shooting him a mock horrified expression.

“It’s not that hard once you get the hang of it. Tonight, he’s making hamburgers and hot dogs.”

“That sounds good. I hope you know I don’t expect you to eat with us every night, Levi.”

He frowned, aware she’d missed the point of his conversation. “Kasi—” he started.

“I held back two pies for you this morning,” she continued. “The extra is for Jace, to thank him for fixing the tractor. They’re in the house. If you’ll wait a second, I’ll run in and get them for you before you go home.”

Levi shook his head. “I wasn’t planning to eat without you, Kasi. I’m inviting you, your dad, and Keith to join me and my brothers.”

“Oh.” She frowned. “I’m not sure?—”

“Kasi, it’s time to create a new normal. Because this current one sucks.” Levi pulled up in front of her house and put the truck in park before turning it off. He twisted to look at her.

“I don’t know what you mean,” she lied. She knew exactly what he meant. He could tell by the way she avoided looking him in the eye.

“Things changed after your mother passed away. That’s to be expected, but…” Levi raked a hand through his hair. “It shouldn’t have changedthisway.”

He half expected his comment to piss her off, but he noticed her temperament had calmed considerably since her good night’s sleep.

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