Page 55 of Sweet Escape
“Hi, Angel. What are you two troublemakers up to, huh?”
“I plead the fifth,” Olivia says, holding up her hands in surrender. “She was already working on the turrets when I showed up. I was just helping her refine the moat.”
I throw my head back, shoulders shaking with silent laughter. “What am I going to do with you?”
Olivia smirks and says, “I have a few ideas.”
The innuendo isn’t lost on me, and my cock doesn’t miss it either. The last thing I need right now is to pop a boner in Mama’s greenhouse.
Bull testicles, horse shit, abscesses. That’ll do it.
“You’re looking a little rough, Big Guy,” Olivia says. “Long day?”
“Not too bad. Had to get Storm’s hoof all fixed up, so I’ve been in the barn a while.”
“Oh no. Is she okay?”
“She will be. What brings you out to the ranch?”
She sighs. “I was stress baking again. I brought some of the extra cupcakes and cookies over. Then Emmy asked me to play, and there’s no way I could say no to that face.”
“Don’t I know it. You wanna come inside and get cleaned up? I was gonna scrounge up something to eat.”
Liv plucks off her gloves and places them on the potting table nearby. I hoist Emmy into my arms and plop her beside the utility sink, helping her clean the dirt off her hands. Once she’s decent enough, Mama takes her up to the big house.
Olivia eyes me warily from the doorway as I approach, caging her against the table laden with trays of unpotted perennials and seed packets.
“You’ve got a little smudge…” I swipe my thumb along her cheekbone, and her eyes dip to my lips.
Everything around us stills.
The birds stop chirping. The air grows thick. All I can hear is the pounding of my heart as I gaze at her perfect mouth.
I shouldn’t want this—shouldn’t want her, not while part of me is still clinging to the past. With each day that passes, I’m growing more attached to Olivia, no matter how hard I try to fight it. I’m caught between desire and defense, and I just might let desire win. To hell with the consequences.
We lean in, our lips brushing in a featherlight touch. She slides her soft hands into my hair. Months of pent-up longing come crashing down around me as she steals the last threads of my resistance.
Her lush body melts into mine, every soft curve pressing into me. I slide one hand down to grip her waist, the other cupping her jaw. Her mouth opens on a sigh, and I take that opportunity to slide my tongue against hers. She tastes like peppermint. The kiss is slow and deliberate, and not nearly enough.
Too soon, she pulls away, her fingers tracing where my mouth had been. “What are we doing, Wilder?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t want to stop.”
“I don’t either, but?—”
“Then let’s not overthink it for now.” I hold out my hand, and she takes it, following the cobblestone path to the house. Emmy’s voice drifts out through the screen door, and everything about this moment feels right, somehow. I can’t describe it, I just know I want more.
When we step inside, a few of our ranch hands are already standing around the island, stuffing their faces with Liv’s baked goods. “There she is,” Mama says. “We were just talking about you.”
“Good things, I hope?” Liv says, but her smile doesn't waver.
“Great things. I’m Clint.” The younger of the two offers his hand in greeting, and it’s all I can do not to slap it away. It’s unlike me to be so possessive, but something about Liv is bringing it out in me.
Clint’s a good-looking kid with black curls and tan skin covered in tattoos. He’s about ten years my junior and closer to Liv in age. His hand engulfs hers, and I don’t miss the way he eyes her up. I make a mental note then and there to make it clear to everyone around here that Olivia Sullivan is off limits.
“This son of a bitch is Hank,” he adds, jutting his thumb over his shoulder at the other ranch hand who’s got a cupcake halfway to his mouth. He pauses and tips his hat in her direction, then finishes the sweet treat. He’s a newer addition to the ranch, slightly closer to my age, with ginger hair and freckles. He’s one hell of a hard worker from what I’ve seen.
“It’s nice to meet you both,” Liv says.
