Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
I love it. I love it so fucking much.
Finally, after I’m gasping for breath and wobbling to stay in place, he presses into me for the final time and then pulls out. Cum drips down my thighs, and I’m coated with desire, sticky, and satisfied.
“Barn sex is a go,” I say, laughing. The pain in my knees hits me all at once, and I cringe as I try to climb off the bale. Hartley’s arm goes around my middle, and he brings me back against his chest.
“You never fail to amaze me.” He kisses the top of my head. “Thank you for that.”
“You’re thanking me?” I giggle, shaking my head. “I came out here requesting service. So thank you.”
“Requesting service …” He chuckles, getting himself put back together. “I have an extra shirt in my truck. Want me to run down and get it?”
I consider my options. My plan was to go to Lolly’s straight from here, but I can’t go smelling like barn sex with him coating my legs. I’m going to have to go back to the house and jump in the shower.
“I’ll just head home,” I say. “I clearly need to clean up before I see my grandmother.”
He grins. “I don’t know. There’s something about this that makes me think she’d be proud to know you got bent over a hay bale in the middle of the day.”
We climb down the ladder, Hartley first, and then make our way to my car. He’s still shirtless, and I could go another round, but I know he has work to do. He can’t do me all day.
“What time do you think you’ll be done tonight?” I ask.
“Probably around seven or so.”
“Should I order us a pizza?”
He kisses my forehead. “Whatever makes you happy.”
I throw my arms over his sweaty shoulders and peer up at him. “You make me happy. And I don’t think I tell you that enough.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
I kiss him, smiling against his lips. I love you, Hartley Adler.
The words rise to the back of my throat, warm and urgent.
But standing in the middle of a field, freshly fucked, doesn’t seem like the right time or place. I’m not sure what moment I’m waiting for, but I’ll know it when it comes.
“Gotta go,” I say. “And you need to get back to work. I don’t know who your boss is, but this probably wasn’t on the schedule.”
Hartley opens my door and waits for me to climb in. “My schedule is flexible. Any time you need servicing, you show up. It’s in my contract.”
I laugh and start the car, rolling down my window. “See you tonight.”
“See you tonight. Be safe today.”
“You, too.” I put the car in reverse. “And if any other woman happens to be out here, you’d better put a shirt on.”
I watch him laugh in the rearview mirror as I drive back to our house.
Our home.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-EIGHT
Mira
I cough, brushing the warm air away from my nose as I reach the top of Lolly’s attic stairs.
“Any of them will do,” Lolly calls up to me. “Just me and Pop at a Christmas party in 1998. I have a gorgeous green ball gown on. You’ll know it when you see it.”
“1998. Green dress. Got it.”
The attic is fairly organized with neat rows of boxes, most of which are labeled. Granted, many just say photographs or decorations, but it’s better than nothing.
“Holler if you need anything,” Lolly says.
“I will.”
“And if you happen to come across a small cedar chest—it would fit in your hands—bring that down, too, please.”
My hands go to my hips. “Anything else?”
“No. That’s it. Good luck.”
I scan the room again. I have my work cut out for me.
The floor creaks as I walk across it, and I find the pull cord for the large light in the center of the room. The bulb flickers before fully turning on. It doesn’t give the best light, but it’s better than the single light by the entrance.
I peek over the rows of boxes, looking for the right year.
My body aches as I move, and my knees are a mess. Despite the shower I took before I left for Lolly’s, I can still smell Hartley on my skin. Sweat. Soap. A dab of cedarwood. Just thinking of the sultry combination makes me shiver.
“Whatever makes you happy.”
His words from this afternoon filter through my mind. I know he means them. In whatever situation I apply them to, that’s his answer.
And that makes me smile.
He makes me happy—ridiculously, wildly happy. Most days, I wake up and can’t believe that this is my life. It almost feels too easy. Unearned. It’s illogical to believe that life just hands you someone so wonderful and you live happily ever after.
That’s what scares me.
“Any luck?” Lolly asks
I roll my eyes. “I just got up here, and there are a ton of boxes.”